[The influence of paternal lymphocytes immunization on percentage of peripheral blood CD16+/CD56+ cells in women with primary recurrent spontaneous abortion].

OBJECTIVES: Paternal lymphocytes immunization has been proposed for several years as an efficient treatment for unexplained Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion (RSA), however precise mechanism that underline the benefits of this immunotherapy is still unclear. DESIGN: The aim was to study the influence of paternal lymphocytes immunization on percentage of peripheral blood NK cells (CD16+/CD56+) in women with primary RSA of unknown etiology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 48 patients with history of 3-5 (mean 3.3 +/- 0.7) consecutive primary RSA of unknown etiology were selected for the study. Immunotherapy with paternal lymphocytes, isolated from 100 ml of peripheral blood, was performed twice prior conception with a 4-week interval. The percentage of NK cells (CD16+/CD56+) was estimated using standard flow-cytometric immunofluorescent techniques for whole blood with one-step monoclonal anti-CD16/CD56 antibodies. Statistical analysis was performed with Wilcoxon test and the p value less than 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. RESULTS: It was found that paternal lymphocytes immunization significantly decreases the percentage of NK cells in peripheral blood in women with RSA (23.9 +/- 8.5 vs. 16.2 +/- 7.0; p = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: The data of the present studies suggest that paternal lymphocytes immunization modulate immunity in women with primary unexplained RSA significantly decreasing the percentage of NK cells (CD16+/CD56+) in peripheral blood.