INABILITY TO ESTABLISH ECTOPIC ENDOMETRIUM IN A NATURAL-KILLER CELL-DEFICIENT MURINE MODEL - IMMUNOLOGICAL, HISTOLOGIC AND HISTOCHEMICAL ASSESSMENT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate what effect natural killer (NK) cells have o n the implantation of heterologous endometrial scrapings. STUDY DESIGN : Anti-asialo GM1 (AA-GM1) antisera have been shown to eliminate NK ce ll activity in various strains of rats and mice. Either AA-GM1 antibod ies (+) or rabbit antiglobulin (-) was administered to beige mice (NK cell deficient) or beige control mice (not NK cell deficient of the sa me strain). The heterologous endometrial scrapings were prepared by sc raping seven pairs of uterine horns from normal mice of the same strai n. Beige and normal mice were then injected intraperitoneally every 3 days with the heterologous endometrial scrapings and antibodies for a period of 50 days. The four experimental groups (n=10 per group) can b e summarized as being beige (+), beige (-), normal (+) and normal (-). RESULTS: There was no evidence of ectopic endometrial tissue in any o f the four test groups by histologic examination or by using immunohis tochemical staining techniques. Histologic evidence of an impaired imm une response was clearly demonstrated in the beige mice receiving AA-G M1 antibodies. CONCLUSION: Using this model, a deficiency of NK cell a ctivity did not appear to enhance the implantation of endometrial tiss ue on the abdominal peritoneum of mice.