Etiologic characteristics and index pregnancy outcomes of recurrent pregnancy losses in Korean women

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to evaluate the etiologies and clinical outcomes of Korean recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) patients. And also, we investigated the differences between primary and secondary RPL patients, between two and three or more pregnancy losses. METHODS: One hundred seventy eight women diagnosed as RPL were enrolled. We performed chromosomal analysis, thyroid stimulating hormone, prolactin, blood glucose, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, natural killer cell proportion, anticardiolipin antibodies, antiphospholipid antibodies, lupus anticoagulant, anti-β2glycoprotein-1 antibodies, antinuclear antibody, protein C, protein S, antithrombin III, homocysteine, MTFHR gene, factor V Leiden mutation, and hysterosalphingography/hysteroscopic evaluation. RESULTS: The mean age was 34.03±4.30 years, and mean number of miscarriages was 2.69±1.11 (range, 2 to 11). Anatomical cause (13.5%), chromosomal abnormalities (5.6%), and endocrine disorders (34.3%) were observed in RPL women. Elevated natural killer cell and antiphospholipid antibodies were observed in 43.3% and 7.3% each. Among of 178 women, 77 women were pregnant. After management of those women, live birth rate was 84.4% and mean gestational weeks was 37.63±5.12. Women with three or more RPL compared with women with two RPL had more common anatomical cause such as intrauterine adhesions and lower rates of spontaneous pregnancy. Compare with secondary RPL women, immunological abnormalities were more common in primary RPL. However, miscarriage rates were not different. CONCLUSION: Immunological factor including autoimmune and alloimmune disorders was most common etiology of RPL. Inherited thrombophilia showed different patterns with other ethnic countries. Miscarriage rates were not different between primary and secondary RPL, or between two and three or more miscarriages group.

Etiologic characteristics and index pregnancy outcomes of recurrent pregnancy losses in Korean women

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to evaluate the etiologies and clinical outcomes of Korean recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) patients. And also, we investigated the differences between primary and secondary RPL patients, between two and three or more pregnancy losses. METHODS: One hundred seventy eight women diagnosed as RPL were enrolled. We performed chromosomal analysis, thyroid stimulating hormone, prolactin, blood glucose, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, natural killer cell proportion, anticardiolipin antibodies, antiphospholipid antibodies, lupus anticoagulant, anti-β2glycoprotein-1 antibodies, antinuclear antibody, protein C, protein S, antithrombin III, homocysteine, MTFHR gene, factor V Leiden mutation, and hysterosalphingography/hysteroscopic evaluation. RESULTS: The mean age was 34.03±4.30 years, and mean number of miscarriages was 2.69±1.11 (range, 2 to 11). Anatomical cause (13.5%), chromosomal abnormalities (5.6%), and endocrine disorders (34.3%) were observed in RPL women. Elevated natural killer cell and antiphospholipid antibodies were observed in 43.3% and 7.3% each. Among of 178 women, 77 women were pregnant. After management of those women, live birth rate was 84.4% and mean gestational weeks was 37.63±5.12. Women with three or more RPL compared with women with two RPL had more common anatomical cause such as intrauterine adhesions and lower rates of spontaneous pregnancy. Compare with secondary RPL women, immunological abnormalities were more common in primary RPL. However, miscarriage rates were not different. CONCLUSION: Immunological factor including autoimmune and alloimmune disorders was most common etiology of RPL. Inherited thrombophilia showed different patterns with other ethnic countries. Miscarriage rates were not different between primary and secondary RPL, or between two and three or more miscarriages group.

Salinomycin inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in human uterine leiomyoma cells

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-proliferative effect of the salinomycin in cell proliferation and apoptosis in primary cultured human uterine leiomyoma cells. METHODS: Cell viability was measured by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. Caspase-3 activity assay and DNA fragmentation assay were performed to determine the effect of apoptosis. The expression of apoptosis regulatory-related proteins was evaluated by western blot. RESULTS: The cell viability and proliferation of uterine leiomyoma cells were significantly reduced by salinomycin treatment in a dose-dependent manner. DNA fragmentation assay results showed apoptotic cell death after salinomycin incubation. Salinomycin activated caspase-3, -8, and -9, causing apoptosis in uterine leiomyoma cells. Down-regulation of Bcl-2, XIAP, and FLIP with a concomitant increase in Bax, Fas, and DR5 were observed. CONCLUSION: These results provided the first evidence that salinomycin induce both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis. Therefore, salinomycin may be a promising chemopreventive and therapeutic agent against human uterine leiomyoma.