Objective: The combination of mifepristone and misoprostol is an established method for the induction of early abortion, but 15% of women still experience the unpleasant side effect of incomplete medical abortion. The purpose of this study was to determine whether prostaglandin (PG) F2α receptor (FP) and its two isoforms (FP-V1 and FP-V2) in human decidua are associated incomplete abortion.
Methods: Forty women who underwent medical abortion were recruited. Among them, there were 20 cases of incomplete abortion. The other 20 cases of complete abortion were used as controls. The expression levels of FP, FPV1 and FP-V2 in the decidua between of the two groups was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Additionally, FP-V2 was knocked down using specific small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) in the primary cultures of decidual cells. The expression levels of cytokines in FP-V2 knockdown primary decidual cells and control decidual cells were detected by quantitative real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Results: The FP and FP-V2 mRNA expression in the incomplete group was significantly higher than that in the complete group (p < 0.05). IL-8 was up-regulated by FP-V2 knockdown in primary-cultured decidual cells (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: These results suggested that the elevated expression of FP-V2 in human decidua is significantly associated with incomplete mifepristone-misoprostol-induced early medical abortion and that IL-8 could be lined to this process.
Keywords: Cytokines; isoforms; pregnancy; prostaglandin receptors; sensitivity.