Pregnancy outcomes following the administration of high doses of dexamethasone in early pregnancy / 대한생식의학회지

OBJECTIVE: In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of high doses of dexamethasone (DEX) in early pregnancy on pregnancy outcomes. METHODS: Pregnant BALB/c mice were treated with high-dose DEX in the experimental group or saline in the control group on gestational days (GDs) 0.5 to 4.5. Pregnant mice were sacrificed on GDs 7.5, 13.5, or 18.5 and their peripheral blood, placentas, fetuses, and uterine tissue were collected. Decidual and placenta cell supernatants were examined to evaluate the effect of DEX on the proliferation of mononuclear cells, the quantity of uterine macrophages and uterine natural killer (uNK) cells, and levels of progesterone and 17β-estradiol, as determined by an 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, immunohistochemistry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. We also were measured fetal and placental growth parameters on GD 18.5. RESULTS: We found that high doses of DEX were associated with an increased abortion rate, enhancement of the immunosuppressive effect of the decidua, alterations in placental growth parameters, decreased progesterone and 17β-estradiol levels, and a reduced frequency of macrophages and uNK cells. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the high-dose administration of DEX during early pregnancy negatively affected pregnancy outcomes.

Effects of aqueous saffron extract on nitric oxide production by two human carcinoma cell lines: hepatocellular carcinoma [HepG2] and laryngeal carcinoma [Hep2]

A number of studies have demonstrated the potential antitumor effects of saffron and its constituents on different malignant cells in vitro. It has been reported that a novel glycoconjugate isolated from corms and callus of saffron possesses cytotoxic activity against different tumor cellswith nitric oxide [NO] production. These data suggest that the cytotoxic effect of saffron extract may be related to an effect on nitric oxide production. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of whole saffron extract on NO production by the hepatocellular carcinoma cell line [HepG-2] and laryngeal carcinoma cell line [Hep-2]. The cell lines were treated with a saffron extract. The morphologic changes were observed and recorded after 24, 48 and 72 of incubation. The MTT test was used to assess cell viability and the quantitative changes in NO production was evaluated using Griess test in the aforementioned time intervals. The morphologic images showed qualitative changes in both cell lines. The MTT assay results indicated that there was an increase in cytotoxic effect by adding the extract at concentrations of 0, 200, 400 and 800 micro g/ml. However, the NO concentration decreased significantly after 6, 12, 18, 24, 48 and 72 hours of incubation, respectively. IC[50] of 400 micro g/ml was obtained for HepG2 cells; however, Hep2 and L929 cells did not respond to any extract concentrations. This study suggested that the saffron extract had a cytotoxic effect on HepG-2 and Hep-2 cell lines. The cytotoxic effect was probably related to a decrease in the NO concentration