Miscarriage Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Miscarriage, including details on signs, symptoms, recurrent, pregnancy.

Cervical tissue changes in women with miscarriage: a morphological and biochemical investigation.

Radulovic NV, Ekerhovd E, Abrahamsson G, Norström A

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. nina.radulovic@vgregion.se

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate morphological and inflammatory events in the uterine cervix in first trimester miscarriages. DESIGN: Experimental study. SETTING: Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. POPULATION: Nulliparous women with first trimester symptomatic (n = 7) or silent (n = 11) miscarriage scheduled for surgical evacuation and nulliparous women scheduled for surgical termination of first trimester pregnancies (control group n = 11). METHODS: Before evacuation, biopsies were obtained from the cervix. The specimens were either fixed in glutaraldehyde for electron microscopy or snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -70 degrees C until analyses of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Ultrastructure of cervical tissue, cervical tissue levels of IL-8, immunohistochemistry of MMP-1, MMP-8, MMP-9 and IL-8. RESULTS: The organization of the cervical collagen framework was deranged, the fibroblasts were reactive and the number of activated mast cells appeared to be increased in specimens from women with miscarriage compared with controls. IL-8 was significantly increased in women with miscarriage. Immunohistochemistry of MMP-1 and MMP-8 did not demonstrate any significant difference between the groups. MMP-9 was significantly lower in specimens from women with symptomatic miscarriage compared to women with silent miscarriage and women in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: An inflammatory-like response takes place in the cervix both in women with symptomatic and silent miscarriage. The intensity of the inflammatory response seems to be similar in the two groups. Therefore, inadequate cervical remodeling does not seem to be the reason why some miscarriages remain silent.

Published 21 December 2009 in Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand, 89(1): 54-64.
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Articles on Miscarriage published 18 December 2009:

Case-control study of a HLA-G 14-bp insertion-deletion polymorphism in women with recurrent miscarriages.   Scand J Immunol, 71(1): 52-4.

Human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-G is an important molecule for maintaining an immunotolerant foetal-maternal relationship. A 14-bp insertion (+14-bp)/deletion (-14-bp) polymorphism in exon 8 of the 3' untranslated region of the HLA-G gene has been proposed to be associated with HLA-G mRNA stability and the expression of HLA-G. This might play an immunomodulatory role in human pregnancy. In this study, a total of 526 Chinese women were genotyped for the +14-bp/-14-bp polymorphism, including 137 ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Miscarriage published 7 December 2009:

Do multivitamin supplements modify the relationship between prenatal alcohol intake and miscarriage?   Am J Obstet Gynecol, 201(6): 563.e1-9.

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Articles on Miscarriage published 25 November 2009:

Factor v Leiden homozygous genotype and pregnancy outcomes.   Obstet Gynecol, 114(6): 1249-53.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the rate of early (first trimester) and late (second and third trimester) fetal loss in women who are factor V Leiden homozygous. METHODS: Between December 1995 and February 2007, consecutive, unrelated white women who were factor V Leiden homozygous and who had been pregnant at least once were recruited from 10 French hemostasis units. For reasons of comparison, we included women who were factor V Leiden heterozygous and a group of noncarriers. The frequency of early and ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Miscarriage published 9 November 2009:

The CD4+CD25 bright regulatory T cells and CTLA-4 expression in peripheral and decidual lymphocytes are down-regulated in human miscarriage.   Clin Immunol, 133(3): 402-10.

The present study was undertaken to analyze the changes in the proportion of CD4(+)CD25(bright) regulatory T (Treg) cells and the expression of costimulatory molecules, CTLA-4 and CD28, in the peripheral blood and deciduas in the setting of non-pregnancy, normal early pregnancy and miscarriage. In this study, we showed that CD4(+)CD25(bright) T cells significantly increased in the peripheral of normal pregnancy compared to that of non-pregnancy. The proportions of CD4(+)CD25(bright) T cells in ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Miscarriage published 23 October 2009:

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Articles on Miscarriage published 5 October 2009:

Malaria-induced murine pregnancy failure: distinct roles for IFN-gamma and TNF.   J Immunol, 183(8): 5342-9.

Although an important role for excessive proinflammatory cytokines in compromise of pregnancy has been established, an immunological basis for malaria-induced fetal loss remains to be demonstrated. In this study, the roles of IFN-gamma and TNF in Plasmodium chabaudi AS-induced fetal loss in mice were directly investigated. Pregnant IFN-gamma(-/-) mice experienced a more severe course of infection compared with intact C57BL/6 mice, characterized by high parasitemia, severe anemia, and marked ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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Articles on Miscarriage published 2 October 2009:

Pathogenicity of an emergent, ovine abortifacient Campylobacter jejuni clone orally inoculated into pregnant guinea pigs.   Am J Vet Res, 70(10): 1269-76.

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