Investigation of platelet-rich plasma in increasing proliferation and migration of endometrial mesenchymal stem cells and improving pregnancy outcome of patients with thin endometrium.

BACKGROUND: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) contains abundant growth factors and is gradually used in the field of reproduction. A thin endometrium is recognized as a critical factor in embryo implantation failure. Endometrial mesenchymal stem cells (EnMSCs), which were isolated from human menstrual blood, are highly proliferative and show multiple differentiation capacity. The current study was to investigate the effect of PRP on the proliferation and migration of EnMSCs, and the effectiveness of PRP in the treatment of patients with thin endometrium. MATERIALS AND METHODS: EnMSCs were treated with PRP in vitro, followed by measuring cell proliferation, migration, and adhesion by using CCK8, scratch, and adhesion test, respectively. Twenty patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) with refractory thin endometrium history were given PRP by infusion into the uterine cavity after the treatment of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). RESULTS: All components of PRP significantly stimulated the growth, migration, and adhesion of EnMSCs when compared with the negative control. Cell proliferation and migration were induced by PRP in a dose-dependent manner with maximum proliferation at a 2% PRP dose. The clinical data showed that successful endometrial expansion and pregnancy were discovered in 12 patients after PRP infusion, and the pregnancy rate increased to 60%. CONCLUSION: Intrauterine PRP infusion represents a new way for female patients with thin endometrium with poor response. This study lays the foundations for the potential treatment of thin endometrium with PRP in vivo.

Toll-like receptor 2 -196 to -174 del polymorphism influences the susceptibility of Han Chinese people to Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) represents a reasonable functional and positional candidate gene for Alzheimer's disease (AD) as it is located under the linkage region of AD on chromosome 4q, and functionally is involved in the microglia-mediated inflammatory response and amyloid-ß clearance. The -196 to -174 del polymorphism affects the TLR2 gene and alters its promoter activity. METHODS: We recruited 800 unrelated Northern Han Chinese individuals comprising 400 late-onset AD (LOAD) patients and 400 healthy controls matched for gender and age. The -196 to -174 del polymorphism in the TLR2 gene was genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. RESULTS: There were significant differences in genotype (P = 0.026) and allele (P = 0.009) frequencies of the -196 to -174 del polymorphism between LOAD patients and controls. The del allele was associated with an increased risk of LOAD (OR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.07-1.60, Power = 84.9%). When these data were stratified by apolipoprotein E (ApoE) ε4 status, the observed association was confined to ApoE ε4 non-carriers. Logistic regression analysis suggested an association of LOAD with the polymorphism in a recessive model (OR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.13-2.39, Bonferroni corrected P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the -196 to -174 del/del genotype of TLR2 may increase risk of LOAD in a Northern Han Chinese population.