Serum anti-leukemia inhibitory factor antibody and recurrent pregnancy loss in Iranian women

[摘要] Recurrent pregnancy loss is defined by the World Health Orgnization as the loss of three or more consecutive pregnancies before the 20th week. According to studies, the prevalence of this disorder in Europe and America is between 1% and 4% for women of reproductive age. Various etiologies including uterine factors, thrombophilia, endocrine, physiological, genetic, and immunological factors are considered risk factors for recurrent pregnancy loss. Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a member of the interleukin (IL)-6 family with a pleiotropic role that plays an essential role in the implantation process of mammals[23]. Targeted mutation in murine LIF gene causes infertility. In mice with defects in LIF, implantation fails, while the implantation process is saved by injecting exogenous LIF. Blocking LIF signaling using antibody or inhibitor causes a significant reduction in the number of implantation. For example, injection of LIF antagonist together with polyethylene glycol inhibits implantation in mice. Moreover, injection of anti-LIF antibody into the monkey and mouse uterus reduces blastocyst implantation. Based on the above findings, we investigated the serum level of anti-LIF antibody in Iranian women with recurrent pregnancy loss and determined its relationship. In this case-control study, 40 participants were considered (α=0.05, β=0.2) in each group. The case group consisted of women who had a history of two or more recurrent pregnancy loss. The inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study participants are depicted in Figure 1. We measured anti-LIF antibody levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with a home-made kit.Figure 1: Flowchart of the group categorisation in this study. LIF: leukemia inhibitory factor. TORCH refers to toxoplasmosis, other agents, rubella (or German measles), cytomegalovirus, and herpes simplex.

[学科分类] 兽医学