Decidual Natural Killer Cytotoxicity Decreased in Normal Pregnancy but Not in Anembryonic Pregnancy and Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion

Abstract Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is one of the major pregnancy disorders and poses a serious risk to both the mother and the fetus. Although a number of research efforts have been conducted, therapeutic advances for treating RSA have not lived up to their expectations. Hence, other treatments should be explored. The important role of natural killer (NK) cells in immunotherapy is attracting increasing attention, both as a pharmaceutical target and for cell therapies. NK cells are abundant in the endometrium and play a role in implantation and placentation in normal pregnancy. As research progresses, NK cells are increasingly regarded as playing essential roles in the emergence and development of RSA. In this article, I review recent findings on the role of uterine NK cells in the pathophysiology of RSA. These cells may become therapeutic NK cell-related targets. In conclusion, although several issues regarding NK cells in RSA remain unresolved and require further investigation, extensive evidence is available for the treatment of RSA.

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Genome-wide miRNA profiling of villus and decidua of recurrent spontaneous abortion patients

Reproduction ◽

10.1530/rep-14-0095 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 148 (1) ◽

pp. 33-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

Fulu Dong ◽

Yuan Zhang ◽

Fei Xia ◽

Yi Yang ◽

Sidong Xiong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spontaneous Abortion ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Target Genes ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Normal Pregnancy ◽

Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion ◽

Future Research ◽

Rna Molecules ◽

Non Coding Rna ◽

Transcriptional Gene Regulation

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNA molecules of about 22 nucleotides that involved in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Evidence indicates that miRNAs play essential roles in endometriosis, pre-eclampsia, infertility and other reproductive system diseases. However, whether miRNAs are involved in recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is unclear. In this work, we analysed the miRNA expression profiles in six pairs of villus or decidua from RSA patients and normal pregnancy (NP) women using a human miRNA microarray. Some of the chip results were confirmed by RT-qPCR. In the villi of RSA patients, expression of hsa-miR-184, hsa-miR-187 and hsa-miR-125b-2 was significantly higher, while expression of hsa-miR-520f, hsa-miR-3175 and hsa-miR-4672 was significantly lower, comparing with those of NP control. As well, a total of five miRNAs (hsa-miR-517c, hsa-miR-519a-1, hsa-miR-522, hsa-miR-520h and hsa-miR-184) were upregulated in the decidua of RSA patients. The target genes of these differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted by miRWalk, and we speculate a network of miRNA regulating RSA by target genes function on adhesion, apoptosis and angiogenesis. Our study may help clarify the molecular mechanisms which are involved in the progression of RSA, and provide a reference for future research.

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