Background

Pregnancy Zone Protein (PZP) is an immunosuppressive protein that is expressed by the placenta and has also been identified in immune cells. When PZP and Glycodelin A (GdA) are combined, they act synergistically to inhibit Th-1 immune response. Little is known about its combined expression and role in normal and disturbed first trimester pregnancy.

Patients and methods

We investigated the expression of PZP and GdA in placental tissue obtained from spontaneous miscarriage (SM) (n = 19) and recurrent miscarriage (RM) (n = 17) at gestational weeks 6–13 by immunohistochemistry and on mRNA-level by either TaqMan PCR or in situ hybridization. Placental tissue from legal terminations of healthy pregnancies (n = 15) served as control group. Immunofluorescence double staining was used to analyse the combined expression of PZP and GdA in decidual tissue.

Results

The protein level of PZP was significantly increased in decidual stroma of SM samples compared to the decidua of control specimens and also significantly upregulated in the decidual stroma cells in the RM group. Concerning GdA, the decidual stroma revealed a significantly decreased protein level in the group with spontaneous abortions than in the group with healthy pregnancies. There was also a significant downregulation of GdA in the decidual stroma of RM samples compared to the control group. We observed a significant negative correlation of PZP and GdA in decidual stromal tissue of recurrent abortion. We could confirm the staining results for PZP as well as for GdA on mRNA level. Both proteins are co-localized in decidual stroma as analysed by immunofluorescence double staining.

Conclusion

A balanced expression of GdA and its carrier protein PZP in the decidua seems crucial for a successful ongoing pregnancy. According to our data, these immunosuppressive proteins are co-localized in the decidual tissue and show a negative correlation only in patients suffering from recurrent abortion.

中文翻译：

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妊娠区蛋白 (PZP) 在复发性和自发性流产的蜕膜中显着上调，并且与 Glycodelin A (GdA) 呈负相关

背景

妊娠带蛋白 (PZP) 是一种免疫抑制蛋白，由胎盘表达，也在免疫细胞中得到鉴定。当 PZP 和 Glycodelin A (GdA) 结合使用时，它们会协同作用以抑制 Th-1 免疫反应。关于它在正常和不安的头三个月妊娠中的联合表达和作用知之甚少。

患者和方法

我们研究了 PZP 和 GdA 在妊娠第 6-13 周自然流产 (SM) (n = 19) 和复发性流产 (RM) (n = 17) 的胎盘组织中的表达，通过免疫组织化学和 TaqMan 在 mRNA 水平上的表达PCR 或原位杂交。来自合法终止健康妊娠（n = 15）的胎盘组织作为对照组。采用免疫荧光双染色法分析蜕膜组织中PZP和GdA的联合表达。

结果

与对照标本的蜕膜相比，SM 样品的蜕膜基质中 PZP 的蛋白质水平显着增加，并且在 RM 组的蜕膜基质细胞中也显着上调。关于 GdA，自然流产组的蜕膜基质显示蛋白质水平显着低于健康妊娠组。与对照组相比，RM 样品的蜕膜基质中的 GdA 也显着下调。我们在复发性流产的蜕膜间质组织中观察到 PZP 和 GdA 的显着负相关。我们可以在 mRNA 水平上确认 PZP 和 GdA 的染色结果。通过免疫荧光双染色分析，这两种蛋白质共定位于蜕膜基质中。

结论

蜕膜中 GdA 及其载体蛋白 PZP 的平衡表达似乎对持续妊娠的成功至关重要。根据我们的数据，这些免疫抑制蛋白共定位于蜕膜组织中，仅在复发性流产患者中显示负相关。