Abstract
Background: Pregnancy is an extraordinarily complex immunological process. For successful pregnancy maintenance the maternal immune system must adapt to and tolerate the semi-allogenic fetus at the fetomaternal interface of the placenta. This balance is regulated by cytokines with a predominant T helper 2 (Th-2) system and a suppressed inflammatory T helper 1 (Th-1) response. This study investigates the role of the Th-1 pro-inflammatory cytokine Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and its role in early pregnancy loss. Patients and methods: In order to identify differences in IL beta levels a TaqMan (R) Human Cytokine Network Array, with placental tissue obtained from patients with healthy pregnancies (n = 15) and recurrent miscarriage (n = 15), was carried out. Protein expression of IL-1 beta in the decidua of healthy pregnancies (n = 15), spontaneous (n = 18) and recurrent miscarriages (n = 15), was investigated by immunohistochemistry. The identification of IL-1 beta expressing cells in the decidua was done with double-immunofluorescence. Results: Gene expression analysis identified a nearly 54-times higher expression of IL-1 beta in placental tissue of patients suffering from recurrent abortion. Immunohistochemistry confirmed a significant upregulation of IL-1 beta in the decidua of recurrent miscarriage specimens (p = 0.01) as well as in the decidua of women with spontaneous abortion (p = 0.001). Double-immunofluorescence identified decidual stoma cells as IL-1 beta expressing cells. Conclusion: Significant upregulation of IL-1 beta may be associated with an imbalanced immune system and a procoagulant state that could be responsible for early pregnancy loss. These results provide new evidence of the complex interplay of IL-1 beta at the fetomaternal interface and its crucial role in miscarriage processes.
Dokumententyp: | Zeitschriftenartikel |
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Fakultät: | Medizin |
Themengebiete: | 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften > 610 Medizin und Gesundheit |
ISSN: | 0165-0378 |
Sprache: | Englisch |
Dokumenten ID: | 100202 |
Datum der Veröffentlichung auf Open Access LMU: | 05. Jun. 2023, 15:34 |
Letzte Änderungen: | 17. Okt. 2023, 15:04 |