title: Relationship between uterine natural killer cells and unexplained repeated miscarriage.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the relation between uterine killer (uK) cells and unexplained repeated miscarriage (RM).
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty women with unexplained repeated miscarriage and missed miscarriage of current pregnancy were studied. Fetal viability and gestational age of the current pregnancy were confirmed by ultrasound, followed by suction evacuation to collect abortion specimens and uterine wall curettage to collect decidua specimens. Abortion specimens were collected for long-term monolayer cell culture and subsequent chromosome analysis using conventional G-banding. Decidua specimens were subjected to immunohistochemical staining using monoclonal antibodies specific to CD56+ and CD16+ expressed by uK cells.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CD56+ CD16+ uK cells were found in 85% [68/80] of the studied decidua specimens of women with unexplained repeated miscarriage; 88.5% [54/61] had normal abortion karyotyping and 73.7% [14/19] had abnormal abortion karyotyping. Moreover, 73.75% [59/80] of the studied women with a past history of early miscarriage had CD56+ CD16+ uK cells in their decidua specimens, and 66.25% [53/80] of studied women with a past history of late miscarriage had CD56+ CD16+ uK cells in their decidua specimens; the association between early and late miscarriage and CD56+ CD16+ uK cells in decidua specimens was significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CD56+CD16+ uK cells were predominant in the decidua specimens of the studied women with repeated miscarriage. A significant association was found between the presence of CD56+ CD16+ uK cells in the studied decidua specimens and unexplained repeated miscarriage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mohamed M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Farghali
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Abdel-Latif G
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: El-Kholy
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Khaled H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Swidan
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt ; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ahmadi Hospital, Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), Ahmadi, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Ibrahim A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Abdelazim
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Ahmed R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Rashed
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Genetic, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Ezzat
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: El-Sobky
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mostafa F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Goma
keywords: Obstetrics; repeated miscarriage; uterine killer cells