Decreased Circulating Level of Soluble Glycoprotein ... - EuroJournals

67 Kambiz Bagheri, Padideh Ebadi, Hossein Berenjeian Tabrizi and Aboozar Dehghan
(Arslan, et al., 2004). Some other authors found significant differences between IL-6 levels in nonpregnant
recurrent spontaneous miscarriage women before and after lymphocyte immunotherapy and
showed that the alloimmunization with paternal white cells leads the serum IL-6 and sIL-6R levels to
the values observed in the course of normal pregnancy (Zenclussen, Kortebani, Mazzolli, Margni, &
Malan Borel, 2000). Moreover it has been revealed that both IL-6 and IL-8 in cervical mucus collected
at 4-5 weeks' gestation are significantly higher in patients who have a history of two or more
unexplained consecutive first trimester miscarriages and aborted subsequently than in those who had a
live birth and thus might have predictive value for cases of recurrent miscarriage (Hattori, et al., 2007).
It is also reported that in comparison with fertile women, those with recurrent spontaneous abortion
show significantly increased levels of sIL-6R and IL-6 (Arruvito, et al., 2009). In addition to abortion
process, theses cytokines may also involve in infertility or some other reproductive failures. For
example, altered secretion of sgp130 may be observed in patients with primary unexplained infertility.
The sgp130 secretion is greatly increased during a normal menstrual cycle and infertile patients show
reduced secretion of sgp130 compared with fertile controls (Sherwin, Smith, Wilson, & Sharkey,
2002). Other results suggest that the balance between sgp130 and its membrane-bound form may play
an important role in regulating cytokine action necessary for blastocyst implantation (Classen-Linke,
Muller-Newen, Heinrich, Beier, & von Rango, 2004). IL-6 and sIL-6R may also contribute to the
pathogenesis of endometriosis-associated infertility (Yoshida, et al., 2004). Polycystic Ovary
Syndrome (PCOS) as other cause of female infertility, are characterized by an increased sgp130
(Nikolajuk, et al.). It is also reported that serum sIL-6R and sgp130 levels could be related to the
development of pregnancy induced hypertension (Y. Li, Wang, & Qi, 2001). According to another
study, IL-2 and IL-6 levels are significantly higher in women with pre-eclampsia as compared to those
of healthy pregnant women (Dimitrakova, Milchev, Batashki, & Karumanchi, 2007).
All the above reports, confirmed our observations about the lower post-abortion level of sgp130
in recurrent miscarriage women. Indeed, the reduced levels of sgp130 as a natural inhibitor of IL-6
responses cause changing the balance of IL-6 related network in these women and thereby could be
related to spontaneous abortion and might have predictive value for some cases of recurrent
miscarriage. Our reported serum values for sgp130 in patients and controls in this study are consistent
with those reported by other researchers for some people with relatively similar conditions (Giuliani, et
al., 2001; Y. Li, et al., 2001).
There are some reports that the sgp130 level was not significantly different in the blood of
pregnant and non-pregnant women. On the other hand, matching the time sampling of all pregnant
women was a problem for us. Also, it is clear that the final outcome of a pregnancy is not known until
the end of period. Thus we decided that examine the levels of sgp130 in recurrent miscarriage women
with at least three previous abortions and healthy women with natural childbirth.
Our study about the several autoantibodies in miscarriage patients lead also to some interesting
results. We found that beside the higher level of ANA in these women, more depressed patients had
higher level of anti-dsDNA and RF. We also found that women who had greater frequency of abortions
had higher level of CRP and RF.
There are some studies which show that most women with unexplained habitual abortion have a
higher level of autoreactivity. For example, the incidence of anti-smooth muscle antibody in women
with habitual abortion of unknown etiology is increased compared with normal multigravida control
(Q. Li, Li, & Tian, 1998). In a previous study using western blotting the women with primary
unexplained infertility and those with secondary unexplained recurrent miscarriage had a significantly
higher prevalence of autoantibodies (el-Borai, et al., 1988). A first early pregnancy loss may be
associated with increased levels of several autoantibodies (Gris, et al., 2003). It is also reported that in
women with autoimmune disorders, a history of recurrent pregnancy loss is independently associated
with reactivity against three distinct Ro antigen-related reactivities (Ro52, Ro60, p57) and also with the
presence of antithyroglobulin antibodies, suggesting that cumulative autoimmune responses against
these non-organ-specific and organ-specific antigens correlate with the risk of stillbirth and
spontaneous abortion (Mavragani, Ioannidis, Tzioufas, Hantoumi, & Moutsopoulos, 1999). Some other