If you have had recurrent miscarriage and every standard test has come back normal this post may be the one that finally gives you an answer.
Because there is a category of immune dysfunction that is present in a significant proportion of women with unexplained recurrent miscarriage one that is not tested in standard investigation, is not widely known outside specialist reproductive immunology, and yet has a growing body of evidence behind both its role in pregnancy loss and its treatment.
It involves a type of immune cell called natural killer cells.
And understanding them may change everything about how you approach your next pregnancy.
WHAT ARE NATURAL KILLER CELLS?
Natural killer cells commonly called NK cells are a type of white blood cell that forms part of the innate immune system. They are so named because of their original characterisation as cells that could kill tumour cells and virus-infected cells without prior sensitisation unlike T cells and B cells, which require prior exposure to an antigen before mounting a response.
NK cells are found throughout the body. But the NK cells that matter most in the context of miscarriage are a specialised population found in the uterus called uterine natural killer cells, or uNK cells.
Uterine NK cells are not the same as peripheral blood NK cells the ones circulating in your bloodstream. They are a distinct population, found specifically in the endometrium, with a unique profile of surface receptors and a very different function from their peripheral counterparts.
And their function in pregnancy is not to attack. It is to facilitate.
