Clin Exp Reprod Med.  2011 Sep;38(3):168-173. 10.5653/cerm.2011.38.3.168.

The role of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T polymorphism on the peripheral blood natural killer cell proportion in women with unexplained recurrent miscarriages

Affiliations
  • 1Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Cheil General Hospital, Kwandong University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. km1yang@naver.com
  • 2Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, USA.
  • 3Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Cheil General Hospital, Kwandong University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 4Division of Feto-maternal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cheil General Hospital, Kwandong University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

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 micromol/L vs. 7.1+/-2.1 micromol/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 micromol/L) had higher homocysteine levels than those with the CC and CT variants (7.4+/-1.9 micromol/L and 7.4+/-1.2 micromol/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.
CONCLUSION
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.

Keyword

Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase Polymorphism; Habitual Abortion; Natural Killer Cells; Human

MeSH Terms

Abortion, Habitual
Abortion, Spontaneous
Female
Flow Cytometry
Genotype
Homocysteine
Humans
Hyperhomocysteinemia
Incidence
Killer Cells, Natural
Live Birth
Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2)
Plasma
Pregnancy
Homocysteine
Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2)
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