Department of Obstetrics, Xuzhou Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital Affiliated to Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China (mainland).
Med Sci Monit. 2018 Mar 16;24:1560-1566. doi: 10.12659/msm.906157.
BACKGROUND In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression of NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) and caspase-1 in fetal membrane and placental tissues of patients with premature rupture of membrane (PROM), and to explore their role in PROM. MATERIAL AND METHODS Ninety women participated in this study: a control group of 30 healthy pregnant women, 30 with PPROM, and 30 with TPROM. Immunohistochemistry streptavidin-peroxidase (SP) assay was used to detect the protein expression of NLRP3 and caspase-1 in the fetal membrane and placental tissues. RT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of NLRP3 and caspase-1 in fetal membrane and placental tissues. RESULTS The results of SP showed that NLRP3 and caspase-1 were mainly expressed in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells, mesenchymal cells, and trophoblast cells in fetal membranes, and the cytoplasm of placental syncytiotrophoblasts and vascular endothelial cells in placental tissues. The expression of NLRP3 and caspase-1 in the TPROM group was significantly higher than that in the PPROM group and control group (p<0.05), and there was a significant difference between the PPROM group and the control group. The results of RT-PCR showed that the mRNA expression level of NLRP3 and caspase-1 in the TPROM group was significantly higher than that in the PPROM group and control group (p<0.05), and the expression of NLRP3 mRNA and caspase-1 mRNA in the PPROM group was significantly different from that in the control group (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS The increased expression of NLRP3 and caspase-1 in fetal membrane and placental tissues may be associated with the development of PROM.
在本研究中，我们旨在研究 NOD 样受体蛋白 3（NLRP3）和半胱氨酸天冬氨酸蛋白酶-1（caspase-1）在胎膜和胎盘组织中早产胎膜早破（PROM）患者中的表达，并探讨其在 PROM 中的作用。
90 名妇女参与了这项研究：对照组 30 名健康孕妇，30 名 PROM 患者，30 名早产胎膜早破（TPROM）患者。采用免疫组织化学链霉亲和素-过氧化物酶（SP）法检测胎膜和胎盘组织中 NLRP3 和 caspase-1 的蛋白表达。采用逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测胎膜和胎盘组织中 NLRP3 和 caspase-1 的 mRNA 表达。
SP 结果表明，NLRP3 和 caspase-1 主要表达于胎膜上皮细胞、间充质细胞和滋养细胞的细胞质中，胎盘组织中胎盘合体滋养细胞和血管内皮细胞的细胞质中。TPROM 组 NLRP3 和 caspase-1 的表达明显高于 PPROM 组和对照组（p<0.05），且 PPROM 组与对照组之间存在显著性差异。RT-PCR 结果表明，TPROM 组 NLRP3 和 caspase-1 的 mRNA 表达水平明显高于 PPROM 组和对照组（p<0.05），且 PPROM 组 NLRP3mRNA 和 caspase-1mRNA 的表达与对照组存在显著性差异（p>0.05）。
胎膜和胎盘组织中 NLRP3 和 caspase-1 的表达增加可能与 PROM 的发生有关。
