Mahdi Alimoradi Fard; Mehri Ghafourian; Abdolah Mousavi-Salehi; Farideh Moramazi; Nastaran Ranjbari
Abstract
Background: Endometriosis is a medical condition that can cause infertility in women. Women with endometriosis experience a decrease in NK cell cytotoxic activity against endometrial cells, ultimately contributing to the spread of these cells.Objective: To assess the frequency of NK cells and the expression ...
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Background: Endometriosis is a medical condition that can cause infertility in women. Women with endometriosis experience a decrease in NK cell cytotoxic activity against endometrial cells, ultimately contributing to the spread of these cells.Objective: To assess the frequency of NK cells and the expression of the NKP46 receptor in endometrial tissue from patients with endometriosis using immunohistochemistry.Methods: 30 endometrial tissue specimens were collected from three groups of cases with mild (n=11), moderate (n=10), and severe endometriosis (n=9), respectively. Additionally, 20 normal endometrial tissue specimens were collected as the control group. Immunohistochemical staining was carried out using specific human monoclonal antibodies against CD56 and NKP46 molecules.Results: Cases with severe endometriosis had a significantly higher number of CD56+ uterine NK cells (26.19±2.50) compared to fertile women (15.02±0.622) and women with mild to moderate endometriosis (p<0.001). However, there was no significant difference between the mild to moderate patients compared with the healthy women (p>0.05). Endometrial NKp46 expression was lower in women with severe endometriosis (0.447±0.0829) compared to fertile women (0.987±0.115, p=0.03). The NKp46+/CD56+ cell ratio was also lower in women with severe endometriosis (0.019±0.003) compared to fertile women (0.072±0.011, p=0.01).Conclusion: Women with severe endometriosis demonstrated an increased rate of infiltrated uterine NK cells and a significant decrease in NKP46 expression compared to fertile women. Therefore, NK cells and the NKp46 receptor may be involved in the development of endometriosis.
Tahereh Mousavi; Hadi Poormoghim; Maziar Moradi; Nader Tajik; Farhad Shahsavar; Behnam Asadifar
Volume 7, Issue 2 , June 2010, , Pages 88-95
Abstract
Background: The HLA class I molecules serve as ligands for both T cell receptors and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs). Objective: We investigated the HLAC and HLA-Bw4 alleles as well as KIRs expression on CD56 positive lymphocytes to evaluate whether these genes and molecules could influence ...
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Background: The HLA class I molecules serve as ligands for both T cell receptors and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs). Objective: We investigated the HLAC and HLA-Bw4 alleles as well as KIRs expression on CD56 positive lymphocytes to evaluate whether these genes and molecules could influence Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) susceptibility, alone or in combination. Methods: We typed 40 AS patients and 40 normal controls for HLA-C asn80 (group 1) and HLA-C lys80 (group 2), HLA-B Bw4thero, HLA-B Bw4iso and HLA-A Bw4 alleles by PCR-SSP method. We also assessed the expression of KIR2DL1/2DS1, KIR2DL2/2DL3, KIR3DL1 and KIR2DS4 by flow cytometry. The Pearson chi-square or Fisher exact test was performed for statistical analysis. Results: The frequency of HLA-B Bw4iso but not HLA-B Bw4thero and HLA-A Bw4, ligand for the inhibitory KIR3DL1, was significantly reduced in AS patients as compared with controls (p<0.01). No significant differences were observed in gene carrier frequencies of HLA-C group 1 and 2 between AS and controls. Although no differences were found in the expression of KIR receptors between AS and normal subjects, we found that expression of KIR3DL1 in the presence of HLA Bw4-Biso gene was reduced in patients with AS compared to healthy controls (p<0.009). Conclusion: We conclude that HLA-B Bw4iso, the ligand of inhibitory KIR3DL1, with and without the expression of KIR3DL1 might be involved in protection against AS. Our results suggest that besides the HLA and KIR genotype, expression levels of KIRs may be involved in the pathogenesis of AS disease
Tahereh Mousavi; Parisa Farnia; Nader Tajik; Mahbubeh Soofi
Volume 7, Issue 1 , March 2010, , Pages 49-56
Abstract
Background: Protective immune responses induced in the majority of people infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis enable them to control TB infection. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate CD56 and CD16 positive peripheral blood mononu-clear cells (PBMCs) and leukocyte subsets from multi-drug ...
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Background: Protective immune responses induced in the majority of people infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis enable them to control TB infection. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate CD56 and CD16 positive peripheral blood mononu-clear cells (PBMCs) and leukocyte subsets from multi-drug resistant pulmonary tuber-culosis (MDR-TB), and compare them with nonresistant (NR) TB patients and healthy controls. Methods: 13 MDR-tuberculosis patients, 20 NR-TB individuals and 40 healthy subjects were included. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were double stained with fluorochrome conjugated antibodies against CD56 and CD16 cell surface markers. The phenotype of positive cells was then analyzed by flow cytometry and the percent-ages of CD56+ CD16+, CD56- CD16+, CD56dimCD16+/-, and CD56brightCD16+/- subsets were calculated. Results: There was a significant decline in the percentage of CD56+CD16+ lymphocytes in both MDR and NR-TB patients compared with healthy controls. We also observed lower proportions of CD56dim/brightCD16+ in addition to higher percentages of CD56dim/brightCD16- subsets in all TB patients (p≤0.05). In MDR-TB, our findings demonstrated a distinct phenotypic feature with increased levels of CD56brightCD16- in comparison with both NR-TB and healthy subjects. Conclusion: Considering the function of CD56/CD16 expressing cells in TB, we suggest that pheno-typic characteristics of PBMCs in MDR-TB may correlate with their status of drug re-sistance and probably with their high mortality rates.