Dyslipidemia tied to higher NK cell cytotoxicity in women with recurrent pregnancy loss

Dyslipidemia appears common in many women with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), reveals a recent study. Additionally, those with a history of RPL and dyslipidemia tend to be at increased risk of autoimmune and cellular immune abnormalities.

A total of 115 RPL women, including 45 with and 70 without dyslipidemia, were enrolled in this retrospective cross-sectional study with ex vivo experiments at a university clinic. The investigators examined cellular immune activity and autoimmune parameters among participants.

Women with dyslipidemia (39.1 percent) showed a significantly higher prevalence of antisingle-stranded and antithyroglobulin antibodies than those without. They also had a significantly higher natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity (p<0.05), measured at effector to target cell ratio (E:T) of 25:1 and 12.5:1.

NK cell cytotoxicities (E:Ts of 25:1 and 12.5:1) showed a positive association with serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (p<0.05 for all).

On the other hand, no significant between-group differences were observed in the T helper 1 (Th1)/Th2 cytokine-producing cell ratios.

In ex vivo analysis, pretreatment with oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) improved NK cell conjugation with target cells and augmented perforin secretion. NK cell cytotoxicities substantially soared following pretreatment with 5 and 50 μg/mL oxLDL (p<0.05 each).

“Dyslipidemia adversely affects female fertility,” the investigators said. “[H]owever, its [relationship] with RPL and its underlying mechanisms remain unclear.”