Evaluation of serum heat shock protein 70 concentration in women with recurrent miscarriages

Background. Heat shock proteins (Hsp) were discovered over 50 years ago and are commonly called ‘stress proteins’. Hsp proteins play an important role in a cell, in that they provide protection against cellstress factors and environmentally negative factors. The most conservative, and the best known, heat shock proteins are Hsp 70 subfamily proteins. It has been suggested that an increase of Hsp 70 in the blood during pregnancy has a negative impact. The aetiology of recurrent miscarriages in more than 60% of women remains unexplained. Therefore the aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of Hsp 70 assessment in the diagnosis of recurrent miscarriages.Material and methods. The study group consisted of 100 women (aged 36.0 ± 4.9 years) who had experienced repeated miscarriages. The reference group consisted of 60 women (aged 36.1 ± 3.6 years), who had been pregnant at least twice and who had given birth by a spontaneous labour without complications. Hsp 70 was determined in the serum.Results. We found no significant differences in the Hsp 70 concentration between the women with recurrent miscarriages and the reference group. While median serum Hsp 70 was the most elevated in the women with the highest number of miscarriages, this difference was not significant.Conclusion. Based on the obtained results, it is difficult to determine whether Hsp 70 plays a causative role in recurrent miscarriages. However, taking into account the fact that the role of Hsp 70 in the course of normal and pathological pregnancy is not yet completely understood, it may be worth expanding the study to include a larger group of women with recurrent miscarriages

Analysis of serum protein fractions from women with recurrent miscarriage

Recurrent miscarriage occurs in 1 - 5 % of women at reproductive age. The most common cause of recurrent miscarriage is chromosomal abnormalities of the embryo (41%), chromosomal aberrations parents (10%), anatomical abnormalities of the uterus (5%), infectious and hormonal factors. In about 25% of women, no cause of recurrent miscarriage is usually found. Therefore it seems important to study all factors possibly inducing pregnancy disorders. Objective: The aim of this study was to find a difference in serum protein fractions between women with primary and secondary recurrent miscarriage. Methods: The study group consisted of 52 women (aged 36.0±4.9) with recurrent miscarriage. Nine of them (17%) reported one earlier regular pregnancy ending with childbirth without complications. Control group comprised 30 non-pregnant women (aged 36.1±3.6), who had given vaginal birth to healthy children at least twice. Serum protein fractions were separated by electrophoresis in the SDS PAGE buffer system using a Mini PROTEAN 3 cell device. BioRad SDS PAGE Molecular Weight Standards covering mass range of 6.5-200 kDa were used as a reference. Gels were stained with Coomassie Blue R 250 solution. BioRad QuantityOne software was used for the assessment of molecular weight of each protein fraction. Results: Electrophoretic separation revealed 39 protein fractions of 10 243 kDa. Particularly interesting was a 38 kDa fraction present exclusively in serum of women with recurrent pregnancy, who had never given birth. Another fraction (74 kDa), not detected in the control group, was found in all women with recurrent pregnancy loss. Protein fractions of 76 and 151 kDa were present only in the control group. Conclusions: The presence of the protein fractions of low- or mid-weight in serum from women with recurrent miscarriage may potentially play a role in the pathomechanism of this disorder

The assessment of usefulness of HE4 and CA125 quantification for the diagnostics of endometrial cancer

Endometrial cancer is one of the most prevalent uterine malignancies. This disease occurs mostly in older women, frequently affected with other comorbidities. Hence, it is important to search for novel, less burdensome diagnostic modalities, enabling the objective assessment of the patient’s status and facilitating qualification to relevant risk groups prior to surgical treatment.The aim of this study was to verify the usefulness of CA125 and HE4 in the evaluation of endometrial cancer.The study included 308 women treated at University Hospital No. 2 in Bydgoszcz. The study group included 180 patients operated due to endometrial cancer. The control group included 128 women operated due to perineal statics disorders. The concentrations of tumour markers were measured with ELISA-based ready-to-use diagnostic kits.Patients with endometrial cancer and healthy women differed significantly in terms of HE4 concentrations (P = 0.001). The serum concentration of HE4 in stage I endometrial cancer patients was significantly higher (Me = 88.37 pM) than in healthy women (Me = 46.14) (P = 0.007). The analysis of ROC curves with the determination of the area under curve showed 66.7% sensitivity and 78.1% specificity of HE4. AUC for HE4 amounted to 0.721 and was the highest of all markers.Our analysis revealed that HE4 is useful in the detection of endometrial cancer, while Human Epididymis Protein 4 can potentially be used for screening purposes. CA125 antigen, previously used in the diagnostic process, is useless or may possess limited usefulness. There is a need for further studies on larger populations of female patients