Reduced percentage of postovulatory natural killer cells associated with impaired cytokines network in the secretory endometrium of infertile PCOS women

Objective: To evaluate lymphocyte subset distribution in the secretory endometrium from infertile patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and the expression of the cytokines known to play a role in determining the endometrial lymphocyte pattern. Design: Experimental clinical study. Setting: Outpatient clinic in a university hospital. Patient(s): Twenty-eight patients with PCOS (PCOS group) and 6 fertile patients (control group). Intervention(s): On days 22-26 of a spontaneous cycle, subjects underwent endometrial biopsies. Main Outcomes Measure(s): In 19 of 28 patients with PCOS and 6 controls with a late secretory endometrium, the percentage and phenotype of lymphocyte subsets were analyzed by flow cytometry. In the late secretory endometrium of 11 patients with PCOS and 3 controls, the expression of interleukins 15 and 18 and of chemokine ligand 10 was also analysed by polymerase chain reaction. Result(s): In patients with PCOS the percentage of CD56+/CD16- and of CD56 bright...