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Low Serum M‐CSF Levels Are Associated with Unexplained Recurrent Abortion
Author(s) -
Katano K.,
Matsumoto Y.,
Ogasawara M.,
Aoyama T.,
Ozaki Y.,
Kajiura S.,
Aoki K.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
american journal of reproductive immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.071
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1600-0897
pISSN - 1046-7408
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0897.1997.tb00268.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pregnancy , abortion , bed rest , early pregnancy loss , gestation , gestational age , obstetrics , adverse effect , gastroenterology , genetics , biology
PROBLEM: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the serum macrophage‐colony stimulating factor (M‐CSF) level is associated with early pregnancy loss in unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) patients. METHOD: We therefore compared preconceptional serum M‐CSF levels between unexplained RSA patients and controls. The former comprised 44 bed‐rest therapy patients and 43 intradermal immunization (IDI) patients receiving paternal lymphocyte therapy, who had experienced two and three or more consecutive first‐trimester pregnancy losses, respectively. The controls were 46 healthy non‐pregnant women. We also prospectively studied the association between M‐CSF levels during pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Sera from a total of 31 pregnant women, including 16 of the bed‐rest therapy group and 15 of the IDI therapy group, were collected at the 4th, 6th, and 8th gestational weeks and were measured for M‐CSF levels, using the enzyme‐linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA) method established by Hanamura et al. RESULTS: Serum M‐CSF levels were significantly lower in the non‐pregnant RSA patients (460.0 ± 185.6 U/ml; mean ± SD) than in the control group (726.5 ± 134.0 U/ml) and also were lower at the 8th, but not the 4th or 6th gestational week in those patients of both the bed‐rest and IDI therapy groups whose outcome was pregnancy failure. CONCLUSION: Thus a low level of serum M‐CSF was found to be associated with unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss in both the preconceptional and conceptional phases. These results raise the possibility that M‐CSF may play an important role in the maintenance of pregnancy and that it can be used as a parameter for determining individuals at risk.