Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University General Hospital of Patras, 265 04, Rion, Greece.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology, University General Hospital of Patras, 265 04, Rion, Greece.
Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2022 Mar 17;20(1):51. doi: 10.1186/s12958-022-00923-4.
Demystifying the events around early pregnancy is challenging. A wide network of mediators and signaling cascades orchestrate the processes of implantation and trophoblast proliferation. Dysregulation of these pathways could be implicated in early pregnancy loss. There is accumulating evidence around the role of Wnt pathway in implantation and early pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to explore alterations in the expression of Wnt4, Wnt6 and β-catenin in placental tissue obtained from human first trimester euploid miscarriages versus normally developing early pregnancies.
The study group consisted of first trimester miscarriages (early embryonic demises and incomplete miscarriages) and the control group of social terminations of pregnancy (TOPs). The placental mRNA expression of Wnt4, Wnt6 and β-catenin was studied using reverse transcription PCR and real time PCR. Only euploid conceptions were included in the analysis.
Wnt4 expression was significantly increased in placental tissue from first trimester miscarriages versus controls (p = 0.003). No significant difference was documented in the expression of Wnt6 (p = 0.286) and β-catenin (p = 0.793). There was a 5.1fold increase in Wnt4 expression for early embryonic demises versus TOPs and a 7.6fold increase for incomplete miscarriages versus TOPs - no significant difference between the two subgroups of miscarriage (p = 0.533).
This is, to our knowledge, the first study demonstrating significant alteration of Wnt4 expression in human placental tissue, from failed early pregnancies compared to normal controls. Undoubtedly, a more profound study is needed to confirm these preliminary findings and explore Wnt mediators as potential targets for strategies to predict and prevent miscarriage.
阐明早期妊娠相关事件颇具挑战。广泛的介质和信号级联网络协调着着床和滋养层增殖过程。这些途径的失调可能与早期妊娠丢失有关。越来越多的证据表明 Wnt 通路在着床和早期妊娠中发挥作用。本研究旨在探讨 Wnt4、Wnt6 和β-连环蛋白在人早期妊娠流产和正常发育的早期妊娠胎盘组织中的表达变化。
研究组包括早期妊娠流产（早期胚胎死亡和不完全流产）和对照组（社会终止妊娠）。采用逆转录 PCR 和实时 PCR 研究 Wnt4、Wnt6 和β-连环蛋白在胎盘组织中的 mRNA 表达。仅对整倍体妊娠进行分析。
与对照组相比，早期妊娠流产胎盘组织中 Wnt4 的表达显著增加（p=0.003）。Wnt6（p=0.286）和β-连环蛋白（p=0.793）的表达无显著差异。早期胚胎死亡与对照组相比，Wnt4 的表达增加了 5.1 倍；不完全流产与对照组相比，Wnt4 的表达增加了 7.6 倍；两组流产亚组之间无显著差异（p=0.533）。
这是我们所知的第一项研究，证明了 Wnt4 表达在人类胎盘组织中发生了显著改变，在失败的早期妊娠中与正常对照组相比。毫无疑问，需要进行更深入的研究来证实这些初步发现，并探索 Wnt 介质作为预测和预防流产的潜在策略的潜在靶点。
