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Decreased Frequency of CD8+HLA-G+ T Cell in the Peripheral Blood of Primary Unexplained Infertile Females

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Abstract

Most of the findings have focused on the importance of CD4+HLA-G+ and CD8+HLA-G+ regulatory T cells (Treg) during pregnancy. It has been demonstrated that these HLA-G+ T cell subsets could induce maternal immune tolerance against semi-allogenic conceptus during pregnancy. There are only a few experiments regarding the Treg cells in the context of unexplained infertility (UI). Thirty-five participants including 18 primary unexplained infertile and 17 fertile females were enrolled in this study. A total of 3–5 ml blood samples were taken, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were separated by using Ficoll. Using a flow cytometer, the frequency of CD4+HLA-G+ and CD8+ HLA-G+ T cells was assessed in the peripheral blood samples of primary unexplained infertile and fertile females. Our results showed that the frequency of CD8+HLA-G+ Treg cells was significantly lower in primary unexplained infertile females than fertile females (P = 0.048). Although the frequency of CD4+HLA-G+ Treg cells in the primary unexplained infertile females was lower than fertile females, the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.25). Regarding the important role of CD8+HLA-G+ Treg cells during pregnancy and its decrease in females with primary UI, it seems that reduced CD8+ HLA-G+ Treg cells could be a leading immunological factor in the context of infertility. Nevertheless, more researches are needed in this field.

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Funding

This study was financially supported by grantsfrom Babol University of Medical Sciences and Gerash University of Medical Sciences.

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Author notes

  1. Mohammad Jafari and Mehdi Shahbazi contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Infertility and Health Reproductive Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran

    Motahareh Ehsani, Mousa Mohammadnia-Afrouzi, Sedigheh Esmaeilzadeh, Zahra Tajalli & Mehdi Shahbazi

  2. Immunoregulation Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran

    Motahareh Ehsani, Mousa Mohammadnia-Afrouzi & Mehdi Shahbazi

  3. Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran

    Motahareh Ehsani, Mousa Mohammadnia-Afrouzi & Mehdi Shahbazi

  4. Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Gerash University of Medical Sciences, Gerash, Iran

    Mohammad Jafari

Authors
  1. Motahareh Ehsani
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  2. Mousa Mohammadnia-Afrouzi
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  3. Sedigheh Esmaeilzadeh
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Contributions

The guarantor of integrity of entire study: MS; study concepts/study design: MS, MM, SE; data acquisition or data analysis/interpretation: all authors; manuscript drafting or manuscript revision for important intellectual content: MS, MM, ME; approval of the final version of the submitted manuscript: all authors.

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Correspondence to Mohammad Jafari or Mehdi Shahbazi.

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Ehsani, M., Mohammadnia-Afrouzi, M., Esmaeilzadeh, S. et al. Decreased Frequency of CD8+HLA-G+ T Cell in the Peripheral Blood of Primary Unexplained Infertile Females. Reprod. Sci. 28, 1939–1944 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-020-00431-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-020-00431-z

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