Elsevier

F&S Science

Volume 4, Issue 1, February 2023, Pages 56-64
F&S Science

Original article
Kisspeptin and kisspeptin receptor immunoreactivity in euploid and aneuploid choriodecidual tissues of recurrent pregnancy losses

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xfss.2022.10.002Get rights and content

Objective

To study choriodecidual immunoreactivity of kisspeptin (KISS1) and its receptor (KISS1R) in recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) due to aneuploidy (AnE) and unexplained (UE) RPL in comparison to control elective abortions (EAbs).

Design

This is a case-control study.

Setting

Tertiary care facility and affiliated research institute.

Patient(s)

Patients with either UE RPL (n = 10) or RPL due to AnE (n = 10) vs. a control group of patients who underwent EAb (n = 10).

Intervention(s)

Immunohistochemistry of archived choriodecidual tissue samples.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Histoscores of KISS1 and KISS1R immunoreactivity in the syncytiotrophoblast (SyT), cytotrophoblast (CyT), decidual glands (DeGs), and decidual stroma (DeS) across the 3 study groups.

Result(s)

There was no difference in both maternal and gestational ages among the 3 groups. Kisspeptin immunoreactivity was similar in the SyT, CyT, DeGs, and DeS of all groups. Similarly, KISS1R expression was not different in the DeGs or DeS among all study groups. In addition, there was no difference in KISS1R immunoreactivity in the SyTs and CyTs between patients with RPL due to AnE and those with UE RPL. However, KISS1R was significantly lower in the SyT and CyT of patients with RPL due to AnE and UE RPL than in those who underwent EAb.

Conclusion(s)

The expression of KISS1R is lower in the chorionic tissues of euploid (unexplained) and aneuploid RPLs than in the control group. The current results broaden our understanding of the role played by KISS1 and KISS1R in early placentation. Further investigation is necessary to determine whether KISS1 activity is the cause or a sequel of defective placentation.

Section snippets

Patient Selection and Tissue Procurement

After obtaining approval from the local research ethics board (The University of British Columbia Clinical Research Ethics Board; REB number, H16-02334), using an already existing REDCap database of patients attending the RPL clinic at BC Women’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 20 patients were randomly selected from 2 groups of patients with RPL: UE RPL and RPL due to AnE (10 patients from each group). An additional 10 cases of EAb were randomly selected from an archived tissue

Patients’ Characteristics

There was no statistically significant difference in the maternal and gestational ages at the time of abortion or pregnancy loss among the 3 groups (Table 1). In addition, there was no statistically significant difference in ethnicity, (P = .37), sex of the fetus (P = .16), or body mass index (P = .71) between patients with UE RPL and those with RPL due to AnE. The type and frequencies of chromosomal abnormalities in the AnE group are shown in Table 2.

Kisspeptin and KISS1R Immunoreactivity in Chorionic Tissues

On microscopic examination of chorionic

Discussion

Implantation and early placentation are complex processes that require synchronization between the maternal interface, the decidua, and the developing embryo (25). Recurrent pregnancy loss, particularly of unknown etiology, is considered a manifestation of imperfect implantation and/or placentation, and the exact molecular basis is still an area of ongoing research. In this study, we present, to our knowledge, the first assessment of KISS1 and KISS1R in the placenta of patients with RPL due to

Acknowledgment

This research was funded by University of British Columbia internal fund, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and by the Missions office, Ministry of Higher education, Egypt.

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  • A.O.A. has nothing to disclose. S.M.G. has nothing to disclose. F.F.A. has nothing to disclose. J.T. has nothing to disclose. M.A.B. reports fees from AbbVie and Baxter.

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