Acupuncture Alleviates Menstrual Pain in Rat Model via Suppressing Eotaxin/CCR3 Axis to Weak EOS-MC Activation

Introduction. Emerging data show that chemokine-mediated inflammation is involved in the occurrence and maintenance of pain. Recent evidence suggests that eotaxin levels rise when dysmenorrhea happens. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether eotaxin/CC chemokine receptor 3 (CCR3) axis, a key regulatory pathway for eosinophils (EOS) recruitment, is involved in acupuncture analgesia for dysmenorrhea. Methods. After the cold congealing dysmenorrhea (CCD) rat model prepared, animals received perpendicular needling (PN) and transverse needling (TN) at SP6, respectively, for 20 min. The CCR3 agonist CCL11 was administered 30 min prior to acupuncture. Pain behavior was assessed via a writhing response. The uterine contraction test was detected by an electrophysiological method. Eotaxin, histamine (HIS), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were evaluated by ELISA. The expression of CCR3 and histamine H1 receptor (H1R) was analyzed by RT-qPCR and Western blot. The expression of EOS, mast cells (MCs), eosinophil peroxidase (EPO), and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) was assessed by hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE), Toluidine Blue staining (TB), and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Results. Acupuncture prominently attenuated the menstrual pain in CCD rats, particularly TN technique. Electrophysiological recording data showed that the increased uterine contractility was ameliorated by acupuncture. In addition, TN decreased the release of eotaxin, HIS, IL-6, and the expression of CCR3 and H1R. HE, TB staining, and immunohistochemistry experiments showed that the increased expression of EOS, MCs, EPO, and ECP in uterine tissues was reversed by TN. Furthermore, we found that the effects of TN against CCD-induced menstrual pain, increased ECP expression, and HIS level were abolished by CCL11. Conclusion. TN alleviated menstrual pain by improving the uterine inflammatory environment via suppressing eotaxin/CCR3 axis to weak EOS-MC activation in CCD rats. The study findings support the acupuncture as a promising approach for dysmenorrhea, meanwhile, indicating the importance of performing appropriate needling technique.

Uterine Factors Modify the Association Between Embryo Transfer Depth and Clinical Pregnancy: A Retrospective Study in 7849 Fresh Transfer In Vitro Fertilization Cycles

The embryo position is supposed to affect implantation following embryo transfer. However, embryo dislodging caused by uterine contraction may occurred after transfer. The retrospective study was to investigated whether the factors associated with uterine contractility, such as endometrial thickness and progesterone elevation, affect the association between embryo position and implantation. A total of 7849 fresh transfer cycles on conventional stimulation in a single IVF centre during the period 2013–2015 was reviewed. Patients were categorized according to quartiles of embryo-fundus distance (≤9, 9.1-11, 11.1-14, ≥1.4 mm, respectively). Adjusted for confounding factors, the odds ratio (OR) (95%CI) for clinical pregnancy was 0.90 (0.79-1.02), 0.86 (0.74-0.99) and 0.70 (0.60-0.82) respectively in quartiles 2 through 4, comparing with quartile 1. However, ORs were significantly increased when endometrial thickness was < 8 mm. The ORs comparing quartiles 2 through 4 with quartile 1 increased 1.96 (95%: 1.33-2.90), 1.20 (95%: 0.78-1.87) and 1.98 (95%: 1.20-3.26) fold respectively in cycles with an endometrial thickness < 8 mm than in cycles with a normal endometrial thickness (8-11 mm). Elevated progesterone on the day of hCG and blastocyst stage transfer reduced the ORs. Our data suggested an interaction between patient characteristics and embryo transfer techniques.

Vitamin D Supplementation Improves Uterine Receptivity in a Rat Model of Vitamin D Deficiency: A Possible Role of HOXA-10/FKBP52 Axis

Synchronized uterine receptivity with the time of implantation is crucial for pregnancy continuity. Vitamin D (VD) deficiency has been linked to the failure of implantation. Therefore, we tested the link between the Homeobox transcription factor-10/immunophilin FK506-binding protein 52 (HOXA-10/FKBP52) axis and the uterine receptivity in VD-deficient rats. The effect of VD supplementation at different doses was also investigated. Forty-eight pregnant rats were divided into six groups (eight/group); normal control rats fed with standard chow (control), control rats supplemented with VD (equivalent dose of 400 IU/day) (control-D400). VD-deficient group (DEF) and the three VD deficiency groups with VD supplementation were equivalent to 400, 4,000, and 10,000 IU/day (DEF-D400, DEF-D4000, and DEF-D10000, respectively). The expression levels of HOXA-10/FKBP52, progesterone level, and histological evaluation of decidualization using osteopontin (OSN) and progesterone receptor (PGR) were estimated. An assessment of the uterine contractility was conducted for all rats. This study showed the downregulation of HOXA-10/FKBP52 together with increased amplitude and frequency of the uterine contractility in the DEF group compared to control. VD dose-dependent supplementation restored progesterone/receptor competency, upregulated the expressional response of HOXA-10 and its downstream FKBP52, and improved uterine receptivity and endometrial decidualization at the time of implantation that was documented by increased area% of OSN and the number of implantation beads.

Abnormal labor as a medical and social issue

Abnormal labor is a main cause of obstetric and perinatal complications. Impaired uterine contraction during childbirth is accompanied by an increase in the risk of fetal asphyxia, obstetric bleeding and postpartum inflammatory diseases. The frequency of diagnosed abnormal uterine contractile activity is 10-25%, which, along with the high need for operative delivery, allows for considering abnormal labor as one of the main medical and social issues of the present time. The aim of this study was to consider abnormal labor as a medical and social problem. This was achieved by using an analytical method including carrying out a detailed systematic analysis of modern domestic and foreign literature on abnormal labor. The study used databases such as eLIBRARY.RU, Scopus, PubMed, MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, and Cochrane Library from the creation until July 2021. Abnormal labor is an important medical and social issue that requires the active development of methods to predict and prevent not only violations of uterine contractility, but also their complications.

Clinical features of labor and morphological aspects of the myometrium receptor profile in obese women

BACKGROUND: Obesity is currently considered as one of the most significant social chronic diseases. It has been proven that obese pregnant women are more likely than women with normal body weight to experience complications of pregnancy and labor. The most frequent complications of labor in obese women are weakness and discoordination, which are probably associated with a decrease in the sensitivity of the myometrium to oxytocin, due to suppression of oxytocin receptor expression. AIM: The aim of this study was to explore the clinical features of labor and morphological aspects of the myometrium receptor apparatus in obese women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a prospective assessment of labor activity in women with obesity, with a combination of obesity and gestational diabetes mellitus and in healthy women. We also conducted a morphological study of myometrium biopsies obtained during cesarean section. RESULTS: Obese patients are more likely to experience various complications of pregnancy and labor, which is the reason for the higher frequency of operative delivery. Patients with obesity showed lower expression of oxytocin receptors in the lower segment of the uterus, which, apparently, is the cause of abnormal contractility of the myometrium during labor and the lack of effect from drug correction of this condition. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of obesity in women before pregnancy contributes to frequent complications of pregnancy and labor, abnormal uterine contractility related to the decreased oxytocin receptor expression, and a high incidence of surgical delivery.

Transcriptome changes in maternal peripheral blood during term parturition mimic perturbations preceding spontaneous preterm birth

The complex physiologic process of parturition includes the onset of labor, which requires the orchestrated stimulation of a common pathway involving uterine contractility, cervical ripening, and chorioamniotic membrane activation. However, the labor-specific processes taking place in these tissues have limited use as predictive biomarkers unless they can be probed in non-invasive samples, such as the peripheral blood. Herein, we utilized a transcriptomic dataset to assess labor-specific changes in the peripheral blood of women who delivered at term. We identified a set of genes that were differentially expressed with labor and enriched for immunological processes, and these gene expression changes were strongly correlated with results from prior studies, providing in silico validation of our findings. We then identified significant correlations between labor-specific transcriptomic changes in the maternal circulation and those detected in the chorioamniotic membranes, myometrium, and cervix of women at term, demonstrating that tissue-specific labor signatures are partly mirrored in the peripheral blood. Finally, we demonstrated a significant overlap between the peripheral blood transcriptomic changes in term parturition and those observed in asymptomatic women, prior to the diagnosis of preterm prelabor rupture of the membranes, who ultimately delivered preterm. Collectively, we provide evidence that the normal process of labor at term is characterized by a unique immunological expression signature, which may serve as a useful tool for assessing labor status and for potentially identifying women at risk for preterm birth.

A review on kalanchoe pinnata (Crassulaceae)

The primary goal of this study is to offer preliminary data for drug discovery research using Kalanchoe pinnata a heavenly plant that has a broad variety of active chemicals, including alkaloids, Phenols, Phenylpropanoids, Flavanoids, Triterpenoids, steroids, organic Salts. This plant was discovered to have a variety of pharmacological properties, including Antihypertensiveactivity, Hepatoprotective activity, Antimutagenic activity, Anti-ulcer activity, Uterine Contractility, Antidiabetic activity, Wound-healing activity, Antioxidant activity, Antitumour activity, Antiviral activity, Antimicrobial activity, Antileishmanial activity, Insecticidal activity, Antipyreticactivity, Antilithiatic activity, Neuropharmacological Immunosuppressive antibacterial activity, Cytotoxicity of testis. This study provides phytoconstituents and pharmacological activity of K. pinnata, a medicinal plant that may help researchers conduct more advanced qualitative research.

Cardiotocographic features in COVID-19 infected pregnant women

Objectives We aimed to evaluate the cardiotocograph (CTG) traces of 224 women infected with novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) and analyze whether changes in the CTG traces are related to the severity of COVID-19. Methods We designed a prospective cohort study. Two-hundred and twenty-four women who had a single pregnancy of 32 weeks or more, and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were included. Clinical diagnosis and classifications were made according to the Chinese management guideline for COVID-19 (version 6.0). Patients were classified into categories as mild, moderate, severe and the CTG traces were observed comparing the hospital admission with the third day of positivity. Results There was no statistically significant relationship between COVID-19 severity and CTG category, variability, tachycardia, bradycardia, acceleration, deceleration, and uterine contractility, Apgar 1st and 5th min. Conclusions Maternal COVID-19 infection can cause changes that can be observed in CTG. Regardless of the severity of the disease, COVID-19 infection is associated with changes in CTG. The increase in the baseline is the most obvious change.

Determination of potential sources of drug development for menstrual disorders: A qualitative analysis of published literature of in-vitro rat uterus experimental studies

Many herbal plants have been recorded in medicine for their usefulness in menstrual disorders, however, a few have been extensively examined for their pharmacological activities. These plants have been recorded to have usefulness in the management of painful menses, preventing miscarriages, prolonging birth, or inducing birth. Therefore, the effects of herbal plants on the contractility of the uterus will be investigated using the in-vitro experiment of the isolated rat uterus. The study aims to assess the most outstanding plants that are used to treat menstrual disorders, their uterine contractility properties, and adverse effects. The study will therefore acknowledge the importance of medicinal plants in the study of new drugs for regulating uterine contractility and propose suggestions for improving experiments involving medicinal plants on uterine contractility for drug development. The study will provide a direction as to whether the plant extract has drug development potential.