Gene Expression Analysis of Membrane Progesterone Receptors in Women With Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion: A Case Control Study Publisher Pubmed



Rahnama R¹ ; Rafiee M¹ ; Fouladi S¹ ; Akbarifakhrabadi M² ; Mehrabian F³ ; Rezaei A¹ Show Affiliations
Source: BMC Research Notes Published:2019

Abstract

Objective: Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is a condition which is defined as three consecutive pregnancy losses prior to 20 weeks from the last menstrual period. Progesterone is a steroid hormone that has an essential role in the implantation and maintenance of pregnancy. The progesterone signaling is performed by nuclear progesterone receptors (NPRs) and membrane progesterone receptors (mPR). The aim of this study was to analyze gene expression of mPR-α, mPR-β and NPR in the endometrium of patients with a history of RSA compared to normal fertile women. Results: In this study, endometrial samples were obtained from 10 women with a history of RSA and 10 fertile women during days 10-14 of menstrual cycle. Relative expression of mPR-α, mPR-β and NPR genes were studied by a quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and compared between the two groups. The mean relative expression of mPR-β gene was significantly lower in the case group compared to the fertile women (p < 0.05). However, the gene expression of mPR-α and NPR showed no significant difference between two groups. The findings suggest a reduction of endometrial gene expression of mPR-β in RSA patients may play an important role in pathogenesis of RSA. © 2019 The Author(s).