Sex hormones alter the response of Toll-like receptor 3 to its specific ligand in fallopian tube epithelial cells / 대한생식의학회지

OBJECTIVE: The fallopian tubes play a critical role in the early events of fertilization. The rapid innate immune defense is an important part of the fallopian tubes. Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), as a part of the innate immune system, plays an important role in detecting viral infections. In this basic and experimental study, the effect of sex hormones on the function of TLR3 in the OE-E6/E7 cell line was investigated. METHODS: The functionality of TLR3 in this cell line was evaluated by cytokine measurements (interleukin [IL]-6 and IL-1b) and the effects of sex hormones on TLR3 were tested by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Additionally, TLR3 small interfering RNA (siRNA) and a TLR3 function-blocking antibody were used to confirm our findings. RESULTS: The production of IL-6 significantly increased in the presence of polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)) as the TLR3 ligand. Using a TLR3-siRNA-ransfected OE-E6/E7 cell line and function-blocking antibody confirmed that cytokine production was due to TLR3. In addition, 17-β estradiol and progesterone suppressed the production of IL-6 in the presence and absence of poly(I:C). CONCLUSION: These results imply that sex hormones exerted a suppressive effect on the function of TLR3 in the fallopian tube cell line when different concentrations of sex hormones were present. The current results also suggest that estrogen receptor beta and nuclear progesterone receptor B are likely to mediate the hormonal regulation of TLR3, as these two receptors are the main estrogen and progesterone receptors in OE-E6/E7 cell line.

association between ABO and Rh blood groups and risk of endometriosis in iranian women

Background: Endometriosis is a common gynaecological disease that affects quality of life for women. Several studies have revealed that both environmental and genetic factors contribute to the development of endometriosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of ABO and Rh blood groups in Iranian women with endometriosis who presented to two referral infertility centers in Tehran, Iran

Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, women who referred to Royan Institute and Arash Women's Hospital for diagnostic laparoscopy between 2013 and 2014 were assessed. Based on the laparoscopy findings, we categorized the women into two groups: endometriosis and control [women without endometriosis and normal pelvis]. Chi-square and logistic regression tests were used for data analysis

Results: In this study, we assessed 433 women, of which 213 patients were assigned to the endometriosis group while the remaining 220 subjects comprised the control group. The most frequent ABO blood group was O [40.6%]. The least frequent blood group was AB [4.8%]. In terms of Rh blood group, Rh+ [90.1%] was more frequent than Rh- [9.9%]. There was no significant correlation between ABO [P=0.091] and Rh [P=0.55] blood groups and risk of endometriosis. Also, there was no significant difference between the two groups with regards to the stage of endometriosis and distribution of ABO and Rh blood groups [P>0.05]

Conclusion: Although the O blood group was less dominant in Iranian women with endometriosis, we observed no significant correlation between the risk of endometriosis and the ABO and Rh blood groups. Endometriosis severity was not correlated to any of these blood groups

MRNA expression of VEGF and its receptors in fallopian tubes of women with ectopic pregnancies

Establishment of viable pregnancy requires embryo implantation and placentation. Ectopic pregnancy [EP] is a pregnancy complication which occurs when an embryo implants outside of the uterine cavity, most often in a fallopian tube. On the other hand, an important aspect of successful implantation is angiogenesis. Vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF] is a potent angiogenic factor responsible for vascular development that acts through its receptors, VEGF receptor 1 [VEGFR1] and VEGFR2. This study aims to investigate mRNA expression of VEGF and its receptors in fallopian tubes of women who have EP compared with fallopian tubes of pseudo-pregnant women. We hypothesize that expression of VEGF and its receptors in human fallopian tubes may change during EP. This was a case-control study. The case group consisted of women who underwent salpingectomy because of EP. The control group consisted of women with normal fallopian tubes that underwent hysterectomy. Prior to tubal sampling, each control subject received an injection of human chorionic gonadotropin [hCG] to produce a state of pseudo-pregnancy. Fallopian tubes from both groups were procured. We investigated VEGF, VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 mRNA expressions in different sections of these tubes [infundibulum, ampulla and isthmus] by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR] and quantitative PCR [Q-PCR]. RT-PCR showed expressions of these genes in all sections of the fallopian tubes in both groups. Q-PCR analysis revealed that expressions of VEGF, VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 were lower in all sections of the fallopian tubes from the case group compared to the controls. Only VEGFR2 had higher expression in the ampulla of the case group. Decreased expressions of VEGF, VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 in the EP group may have a role in the pathogenesis of embryo implantation in fallopian tubes

Gene expression analysis of VEGF and its receptors and assessment of its serum level in unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion

Unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion [URSA] is one of the main complications of pregnancy which is usually defined as three or more consecutive pregnancy losses before the 20[th] week of gestation without a known cause. Vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF] is a potent angiogenic factor and shown, along with its receptors [VEGFR1, 2], to play important roles in several physiologic processes including reproduction. The aim of the present study was to analyze gene expression of VEGF and VEGF receptors in endometrium of patients with a history of URSA compared with normal fertile women. In addition, serum VEGF concentration was assessed and compared between the two groups at the same time. In this case control study, endometrial and blood samples were obtained between day 19[th] and 24[th] of menstrual cycle [window of implantation] from 10 women with a history of URSA [case group] and 6 fertile women who had at least one successful pregnancy [control group]. Expression of VEGF and VEGFRs was studied by reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR] and then quantified by real time PCR. Normalization of expression levels was done by comparison with beta-actin expression level as an internal control. Relative VEGF, VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 expression quantities were compared between the two groups. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA] was used for serum VEGF assay. VEGF, VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 gene expression was detected in endometrial samples of both groups. The mean relative expression of VEGF gene was lower in the case group compared with control women, however, both VEGF receptors were expressed higher in endometrium of the case group. In addition, the serum level of VEGF was significantly higher in the case group compared with the controls. Alteration in gene expression of VEGF and its receptors in endometrium and changes of serum VEGF might play important roles in pathogenesis of unexplained RSA

expression of toll-like receptors [TLRs] in testicular cancer: a case control study

It has been suggested that malfunction of immune system may causes testicular cancer. Recently, our understanding of innate immune system has been expanded, by discovery of "Toll-Like Receptors" [TLRs]. Some studies have shown that polymorphisms of TLR2 and 4 may affect on the risk of cancer. Also, the role of TLRs 3 and 9 have been shown in apoptosis and metastasis of cancer cells in animal models. Little information is available about the influence of innate immunity on testicular malignancy. Therefore, expression of TLRs 2, 3, 4 and 9 as main components of innate immunity has been investigated in this study. In this case control study, TLRs gene expression was examined by RT-PCR in normal testis and testicular cancer tissues. Real time quantitative PCR [Q-PCR] analysis was used to compare the relative expression of TLRs between the samples. mRNAs of TLR 2, 3, 4 and 9 were expressed in all normal and cancer samples. Q-PCR reveals that cancer samples had stronger expression of these genes compared with normal ones. It seems that the different TLRs expression in testicular cancer cells may contribute to extensive signaling pathways involved in carcinogenesis

Symptoms of natural menopause among Iranian women living in Tehran, Iran

Menopause is a step of a woman's life when hormonal changes cause menstruation to stop permanently. Menopausal symptoms can affect women's health and differ between different races and societies. The aim of this study was to survey the symptoms associated with menopause among Iranian women living in Tehran, Iran. In this cross sectional study which has been done between 2004 and 2005, women aged equal or more than 35 years old living in districts of Tehran were selected by multistage randomized cluster sampling. For each woman a questionnaire was completed. The data gained from each questionnaire was analyzed by using SPSS version 13. At time of study, 2462 women were naturally menopause. The mean age of natural menopause onset was 47.71 [SE=0.11] years. In 52.9% of cases, the onset of menopause was sudden. The symptoms associated with menopause were night sweats [61.2%], joint and muscle pain [59.9%], hot flashes [53.1%], fatigue [45.6%], decreased libido [33.9%], insomnia [33.7%], weight gain [30.1%], forgetfulness [24.9%] and urinary symptoms [17.4%]. This study showed that night sweats, joint and muscle pain and hot flashes are the most common symptoms associated with menopause

Dexamethasone as a supplement for exogenous gonadotropin to improve ovarian response of women over 35 years undergoing IVF/ICSI cycles

With aging, the ovarian reserve is decreased and that is a major contributor to poor ovarian response to exogenous gonadotropins. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the role of Dexamethasone on ovarian response in infertile patients aged over 35 years undergoing IVF/ICSI cycles. In this triple blind placbo-control clinical trial study, a total of 72 infertile women over age 35, undergoing IVF/ICSI cycles, referred to Royan Institute from May 2000 to May 2002 were selected. Dexamethasone co-treatment [1mgld] was started on the 21st of their preceding menstrual cycle and it was continued until oocyte aspiration. The main outcome measures were number of retrieved oocytes, number of fertilized and transferred embryos, number of used HMG, serum E2 level on HCG injection day, and pregnancy rate. There was no significant statistical difference in age, duration of infertility, Body mass index, hormonal tests, number of retrieved oocytes and transferred embryos. However, the number of used HMG was significantly lower in Dexamethasone group compared to placebo group [30.6 +/- 13.39 versus 41.64 +/- 18.34] [p<0.05]. The addition of dexamethasone 1mgld to standard long protocol decreased the number of itme used in patients over 35 years who hold known risk of low ovarian response