No association of natural killer cell number and function in peripheral blood with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome in a cohort of young women

Abstract Aim To reexamine the associations of NK cell number and function in the peripheral blood with overweight/obesity and the metabolic syndrome in a large, well‐phenotyped human cohort. Methods Cross‐sectional analysis of 273 women in the PPSDiab Study; measurement of absolute and relative number of NK cells in peripheral blood, and of functional parameters CD69 positivity and cytotoxicity against K562 cells; group comparison of NK cell characteristics between lean, overweight, and obese participants, as well as metabolic syndrome scores of 0, 1, 2, and ≥3; Spearman correlation analyses to clinical parameters related to the metabolic syndrome. Results We found no differences in NK cell number and function between lean, overweight, and obese women (relative NK cell number (median (Q1–Q3), [%]) 5.1(2.6–9.4) vs. 4.8 (2.9–8.4) vs. 3.8 (1.7–7.8), p = 0.187; absolute NK cell number [106/L]: 86.9 (44.6–188.8) vs. 92.6 (52.5–154.6) vs. 85.9 (44–153.8), p = 0.632; CD69+ [%]: 27.2 (12.9–44.3) vs. 37.6 (13.2–52.8) vs. 33.6 (16.3–45), p = 0.136; cytotoxicity [%]: 11.0 (7.1–14.5) vs. 8.5 (6.4–13.2) vs. 11.3 (8.7–14.2), p = 0.094), as well as between different metabolic syndrome scores. Nonesterified fatty acids correlated with absolute and relative NK cell number and cytotoxicity (ρ [p‐value]: 0.142 [0.021], 0.119 [0.049], and 0.131 [0.035], respectively). Relative NK cell number further correlated with high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (0.144 [0.018]) and cytotoxicity with 2 h glucose in oral glucose tolerance testing (0.132 [0.034]). CD69 positivity correlated with body fat (0.141 [0.021]), triglycerides (0.129 [0.033]), and plasma leptin (0.155 [0.010]). After correction for multiple testing, none of the associations remained significant. Conclusion In the present study, we observed no associations of NK cell number and function in the peripheral blood with overweight/obesity and the metabolic syndrome. Extreme phenotypes of obesity and the metabolic syndrome might have caused differing results in previous studies. Further analyses with a focus on compartments other than peripheral blood may help to clarify the relation between NK cells and metabolic diseases.