Low expression of Mfn2 is associated with mitochondrial damage and apoptosis in the placental villi of early unexplained miscarriage.

INTRODUCTION: Early miscarriage is the most common complication of pregnancy and in many cases the etiology is not clearly understood. We aim to profile the expression of Mfn2 and mitochondrial damage in villous tissues, in order to determine the underlying mechanism of unexplained miscarriage. METHODS: We investigated placental villous samples of 30 women with early unexplained miscarriage (miscarriage group) and 30 women with normal pregnancy (control group). Immunohistochemistry and western blotting were used to detect the Mfn2 expression. We observed trophoblastic cell apoptosis with TUNEL and analyzed Bcl-2 and Bax levels by western blotting. Transmission electron microscopy was used to analyze mitochondrial morphology and phosphomolybdic acid colorimetric method was used to measure the ATP content of all villous samples. RESULTS: Mfn2 staining showed extra-nuclear localization in the trophoblastic cells. Compared with the control group, the levels of Mfn2 and Bcl-2 were markedly decreased (P < 0.01), while both the levels of Bax protein and apoptosis index (AI) were increased in the miscarriage group (P < 0.01). Mfn2 levels positively correlated with Bcl-2, but negatively correlated with Bax. Moreover, compared to the control group (33.8 ± 6.5 µmol/g), ATP levels in the miscarriage group were significantly decreased (15.8 ± 4.8 µmol/g). In addition, obvious impairment of mitochondrial function was observed in trophoblastic cells from the unexplained miscarriage group. CONCLUSION: Mitochondrial morphologic and functional changes were observed in trophoblastic cells, and in relation with apoptosis, may be correlated with low levels of Mfn2. Deficient expression of Mfn2 in trophoblastic cells could be an important cause of early miscarriage.

Development of a cost-effective method for platelet-rich plasma (PRP) preparation for topical wound healing.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a volume of plasma fraction of autologous blood having platelet concentrations above baseline whole-blood values due to processing and concentration. PRP is used in various surgical fields to enhance soft-tissue and bone healing by delivering supra-physiological concentrations of autologous platelets at the site of tissue damage. These preparations may provide a good cellular source of various growth factors and cytokines, and modulate tissue response to injury. Common clinically available materials for blood preparations combined with a two-step centrifugation protocol at 280g each, to ensure cellular component integrity, provided platelet preparations which were concentrated 2-3 fold over total blood values. Costs were shown to be lower than those of other methods which require specific equipment and high-cost disposables, while safety and traceability can be increased. PRP can be used for the treatment of wounds of all types including burns and also of split-thickness skin graft donor sites, which are frequently used in burn management. The procedure can be standardized and is easy to adapt in clinical settings with minimal infrastructure, thus enabling large numbers of patients to benefit from a form of cellular therapy.

Le plasma riche en plaquettes (PRP) est un volume de la fraction plasmatique du sang autologue ayant des concentrations au-dessus des valeurs de base des plaquettes sang total en raison de l'élaboration et de la concentration. Le PRP est utilisé dans différents domaines de la chirurgie pour améliorer la guérison des tissus mous et des os en délivrant des concentrations supraphysiologiques de plaquettes autologues au niveau du site de lésion tissulaire. Ces préparations peuvent fournir une bonne source cellulaire de divers facteurs de croissance et, de cytokines et moduler la réponse tissulaire à une lésion. Des matériaux communs cliniquement disponibles pour des préparations hématiques en association avec un protocole de centrifugation en deux étapes à 280g chacun, afin d'assurer l'intégrité des composants cellulaires, ont fourni des préparations de plaquettes qui ont été concentrées 2-3 fois par rapport aux valeurs de sang total. Les coûts se sont avérés inférieurs à ceux des autres méthodes qui nécessitent un équipement spécifique et des jetables ayant un coût élevé, tandis que la sécurité et la traçabilité peuvent être augmentées. Le PRP peut être utilisé pour le traitement de tous les types de lésions, y compris les brûlures comme aussi pour le traitement des sites donateurs de greffes cutanées d'épaisseur variable, qui sont fréquemment utilisées dans la gestion des brûlures. La procédure peut être standardisée et facilement adaptée dans les milieux cliniques avec une infrastructure minimale, permettant ainsi à un grand nombre de patients de bénéficier de cette forme de thérapie cellulaire.