Abstract
Purpose Researchers have hypothesized that an imbalance of immune cells in the uterine decidua and a dysfunction in cytokines they produce may contribute to recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). The objective of this study was to determine if IL- 22, IL-23 and IL-17 are expressed abnormally in the decidua of patients with RPL compared to those women with a normal pregnancy. We also sought to confirm that uterine natural killer (uNK) cells are lower in the decidua of patients with RPL, as well as identify IL-22 expression by uNK cells. Methods After meeting strict inclusion criteria, maternal decidua of nine patients with unexplained RPL and a confirmed euploid fetal loss, and 11 gestational age-matched patients undergoing elective pregnancy termination were included in our analysis. Quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to quantify RNA expression, Western blot was performed to quantify protein expression and immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to identify IL-22 and uNK cells. Results We found that women with unexplained RPL and a euploid fetal loss had significantly less gene and protein expression of IL-22 in the decidua. Additionally, we found that IL-22 is primarily expressed by uNK cells in the decidua. Conclusions In conclusion, our results suggest that lower levels of IL-22 in the uterine decidua in patients with unexplained RPL may contribute to a disruption of decidual homeostasis and ultimately lead to early pregnancy loss.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | A012 |
Pages (from-to) | 977-984 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1 2015 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Interleukin-17
- Interleukin-22
- Interleukin-23
- Recurrent pregnancy loss
- Uterine deciduas
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Reproductive Medicine
- Genetics
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics(clinical)