ABSTRACT
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 17ß-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 17ß-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.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To determine the immune status of the abortion mouse model at the feto-maternal interface and at the systemic level simultaneously. STUDY DESIGN: Mid-pregnancy serum and decidual cell supernatants (DS) were obtained from abortion and non-abortion mouse models. The effect of serum and DS on PHA or LPS-induced lymphocyte proliferation was investigated by MTT reduction assay. Treated macrophages and LPS-stimulated macrophages were evaluated for viability and also for nitric oxide (NO) production by Griess reagent. RESULTS: Our results showed that DS from the abortion mouse model significantly decreased LPS-stimulated splenocyte proliferation, and increased proliferation in PHA-stimulated splenocytes, compared with that in the non-abortion mouse model. Proliferation assays for mid-pregnancy serum were the same on LPS- and PHA-stimulated splenocytes. NO production was decreased by non-abortion DS, similar to that observed for serum treatment in LPS-stimulated macrophages in abortion mice. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that in the abortion mouse model, soluble factors within the decidua are more effective than serum soluble factors in altering immune responses that may be involved in the complex process of fetal rejection.
