title: The role of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T polymorphism on the peripheral blood natural killer cell proportion in women with unexplained recurrent miscarriages.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the association between methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism and hyperhomocysteinemia in women with unexplained recurrent miscarriages (RM) and to investigate the association between MTHFR genotype variants and alloimmune activation, proportion of peripheral blood natural killer (pbNK) cells.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 39 patients with a history of two or more unexplained miscarriages were recruited to this study. The controls were women who had a live birth without a history of RM (n=50). The proportion of pbNK cells was measured by flow cytometry. Plasma homocysteine levels and the incidence of the MTHFR variant of the RM and control groups were compared. The proportion of pbNK cells was compared to the MTHFR variants in the RM group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No differences were found between the two groups' mean plasma homocysteine levels (7.6±1.5 µmol/L vs. 7.1±2.1 µmol/L) or incidence of the MTHFR genotype variant (CC, 35% vs. 33%; CT, 40% vs. 53%; and TT, 25% vs. 14%). In the RM group, individuals with the TT variant (7.7±1.1 µmol/L) had higher homocysteine levels than those with the CC and CT variants (7.4±1.9 µmol/L and 7.4±1.2 µmol/L) and those with the CT variant (19.2±8.1%) had a higher proportion of CD3-/CD56+ pbNK cells than those with the CC and TT variants (17.7±6.6% and 17.9±7. 0%), but the results of both comparisons were statistically insignificant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These preliminary results show no difference in plasma homocysteine levels between the RM and control groups or among MTHFR genotype variants in the RM group, which may suggest that the plasma homocysteine level is difficult to use as a predictive marker of RM in the Korean population. A study of a larger number of patients is needed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Cheil General Hospital, Kwandong University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Chan Woo
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Ae Ra
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kwak-Kim
authors.forename: So Yeon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jung Yeol
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Mi Kyoung
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Koong
authors.forename: In Ok
authors.initials: IO
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Kwang Moon
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Yang