The role of TSP-1 on decidual macrophages involved in the susceptibility to unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion.

Problem: To investigate the role of TSP-1 on decidual macrophages (DMPhi) in unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA).

Method Of Study: A total of 20 women undergoing artificial abortion in the first trimester and 10 patients with RSA were selected. (i) The expression of TSP-1 mRNA in deciduas was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction; (ii) Flow cytometry was used to detect the percentage of positive TSP-1, CD36, CD47 markers on macrophages. (iii) Cytokine expression was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot-forming (ELISPOT) cell assay.

Results: (i) The expression of TSP-1 mRNA on DMPhi in RSA was significantly decreased (P < 0.05). (ii) The increased expression of CD36 (P < 0.01) and the decreased expression of TSP1 (P < 0.01) were found on DMPhi of RSA. No different CD47 expression level on DMPhi was observed between two groups. (iii)The expression of IL-10 in DMPhi of RSA patients was decreased significantly compared with that of controls (P < 0.05). When adding TSP1 into culture medium, there was no change in IFN-gamma expression, but increased IL-10 (P < 0.05) expression in DMPhi of RSA patients was observed. The expression of IL-10 was decreased significantly in DMPhi from controls when adding anti-TSP-1 antibody to culture medium (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: TSP-1 on DMPhi could influence IL-10 expression as Th2 cytokines. The abnormal expression of TSP-1 could make some women undergo pregnancy loss.