ABSTRACT
Pre-eclampsia is a disorder that affects approximately 5% of pregnancies. We tested the hypothesis that skewed X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) could be involved in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia. Peripheral blood DNA was obtained from 67 pre-eclampsia patients and 130 control women. Androgen receptor (AR) was analyzed by the HpaII/polymerase chain reaction assay to assess XCI patterns in DNA extracted from peripheral-blood cells. In addition, buccal cells were obtained from seven patients, and the analysis repeated. Extremely skewed XCI was observed in 10 of 46 informative patients (21.74%), and in 2 of 86 informative controls (2.33%, P = 0.0005; chi(2) test). Our findings support a role for the X-chromosome in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia in a subgroup of patients.
Subject(s)
Genetic Predisposition to Disease , Pre-Eclampsia/genetics , X Chromosome Inactivation/genetics , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , PregnancyABSTRACT
Mechanical bowel obstruction is a rare complication of pregnancy, usually seen in small bowel, and most commonly due to an adhesive band or hernia. Surgical evaluation is the method of treatment in cases that do not answer to conservative support procedures. A very rare case of small-bowel strangulation caused by herniation of a loop of ileum through another ileoperitoneal adhesion is presented.
Subject(s)
Ileus , Intestinal Volvulus/diagnosis , Intestinal Volvulus/surgery , Pregnancy Complications/diagnosis , Pregnancy Complications/surgery , Adult , Anastomosis, Surgical , Female , Gangrene , Gestational Age , Humans , Ileus/pathology , Ileus/surgery , Intestinal Volvulus/pathology , PregnancyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the expression sta tus of c-met, receptor for the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), in the placentas of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) fetuses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Placentas were obtained during delivery from both third trimester normal and IUGR complicated pregnancies. Ultrasonographic estimation of fetal birth weight has been done and placentas of those under the fifth percentile for their gestational ages were enrolled in the study group. Eighteen fetuses with IUGR and 6 uncomplicated pregnancies were subjected to the study. Histological sections from placentas were immunohistochemically evaluated for the expression status of c-met. RESULTS: Seventeen of the eighteen patients (94.4%) in the study group were found to have overexpression of the c-met while this figure was only 16.7% (1/6) in the control group (p < 0.0001). There was a strong statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding degree of c-met expression. CONCLUSION: Our present findings suggest that c-met is an important cell membrane receptor in human placenta. Deregulation of the interaction between HGF and its receptor c-met during placentation may be the cause responsible for the growth retardation of the fetus due to the impaired placental functions.
Subject(s)
Fetal Growth Retardation/metabolism , Placenta/metabolism , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met/metabolism , Adult , Cell Membrane/metabolism , Female , Gestational Age , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Infant, Newborn , Pregnancy , Severity of Illness IndexABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the significance of the c-Met/hepatocyte growth factor receptor expression in invasive cervical carcinoma. METHODS: Ninety-Four patients with FIGO stage 1B disease, treated primarily with surgery, were studied immunohistochemically. Of the cases, 67 were squamous carcinoma and 27 were nonsquamous (10 were adenocarcinoma, 15 were adenosquamous carcinoma, and 2 were indifferentiated carcinoma). Immunohistochemically stained c-Met slides of primary malignancies were evaluated blindly of clinical outcome and other histopathological factors. RESULTS: Overexpression of c-Met was found in 56 of 94 specimens. Primary tumors which show recurrences were found to be c-Met overexpressors. Univariate survival analysis (Kaplan-Meier) showed that c-Met overexpression is significantly correlated with disease-free survival. Moreover the diameter of the primary tumor, deep cervical stromal invasion, presence of metastatic lymph node, number of metastatic lymph nodes and c-Met overexpression were significantly correlated with overall 5-year survival. Furthermore multivariant analysis with Cox regression showed that the presence of metastatic lymph node and immunopositivity for c-Met are significantly correlated with overall survival, while c-Met overexpression was found to be an independent variable for disease-free survival. CONCLUSION: These results reveal that c-Met oncogene overexpression is an important parameter for disease progression, recurrence, and survival in early-stage invasive uterine cervix carcinomas.
Subject(s)
Biomarkers, Tumor/biosynthesis , Hepatocyte Growth Factor/biosynthesis , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/metabolism , Adenocarcinoma/metabolism , Adenocarcinoma/pathology , Adult , Aged , Carcinoma/metabolism , Carcinoma/pathology , Carcinoma, Adenosquamous/metabolism , Carcinoma, Adenosquamous/pathology , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/metabolism , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/pathology , Disease-Free Survival , Female , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Invasiveness , Neoplasm Staging , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/pathology , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/surgeryABSTRACT
Fertility sparing surgery was carried out for an epithelial ovarian cancer patient. After adjuvant chemotherapy, she underwent assisted reproduction and gave birth to twins. She was given alpha-Interferon therapy for hepatitis C during pregnancy.
