Shiraz Emedical Journal
Volume:16 Issue: 3, Jul 2015

Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, which is associated with increased maternal and prenatal morbidity and mortality. Oxidative stress associated with preeclampsia may be a consequence of reduced antioxidant defense pathways that might involve inadequate glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels, perhaps linked to reduced selenium availability. The soluble FMS-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) that contributes to endothelial dysfunction may be partially responsible for the clinical manifestation of preeclampsia. Furthermore, elevated plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and decreased plasminogen activator inhibitor-2 (PAI-2) are found in preeclamptic women. Hence, the PAI1: PAI2 ratio maybe a predictor of preeclampsia.. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of selenium supplementation on sFlt-1, GPx activity and PAI1: PAI2 ratio in pregnant women.. A total of 125 high-risk pregnant women (with a familial history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia and other risk factors for preeclampsia) in the first trimesters of pregnancy were assigned to either selenium (n = 61) or placebo (n = 64) groups. The selenium group received 100 μg/day of selenium as a selenium-yeast tablet for six months. The placebo group received a placebo yeast tablet for the same period. At the beginning of the trial and at the end, blood samples were collected and the levels of sFlt-1, PAI-1, PAI2 and GPx were measured in blood serum and plasma.. Serum selenium concentrations were raised in the selenium group (P < 0.001) from the first to the third trimester, but was unchanged in the placebo group (P = 0.85). The results showed that sFlt-1 had significantly increased in both groups by the end of the gestation period, and selenium supplementation had no significant effect on the selenium group (P = 0.51). However, GPx activity was significantly increased in the selenium treatment group after supplementation compared to the control group (P < 0.001). The PAI1: PAI2 ratio was not significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.44).. Selenium intake during the second and third trimester of pregnancy increased GPx activity but did not have a significant effect on serum sFlt-1 levels or the ratio of PAI1: PAI2 in the serum..

Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) is a nonclassical HLA-class I antigen located on chromosome 6. HLA-G is highly expressed on cytotrophoblast cells at the fetomaternal interface and involved in the development of pregnant uterus as an immune privileged site. Expression of HLA-G is thought to have a critical role in the protection of the semiallogenic fetus from maternal immune attack during pregnancy. HLA-G molecules bind inhibitory receptors on maternal T cells and NK cells and subsequently inhibit their cytolytic activities. Because of mRNA alternative splicing of HLA-G primary transcript, the HLA-G protein exists in both membrane-bound (HLA-G1 to G4) and soluble (HLA-G5 to G7) isoforms. HLA-G gene contains 15 alleles, including the HLA-G*0105N null allele. A single base-pair deletion of a cytosine (1597delC) results in open reading frame mutation, which leads to a premature stop codon. The HLA-G*0105N allele is unable to generate the HLA-G1, HLA-G5, and HLA-G4 isoforms. However, it is still able to produce other HLA-G proteins, in which exon 3 is removed by alternative splicing, including HLA-G2, G3, G6 and G7 isoforms. HLA-G*0105N null allele has been described in healthy adults with successful and normal pregnancies, which suggests that HLA-G function is not restricted to the HLA-G1 isoform. Description of healthy individual homozygous for HLA-G*0105N allele recommends that truncated HLA-G2 and G3 isoforms encoded by null allele are able to compensate for the lack of the HLA-G1, G4 and G5 isoforms. Results of the numerous studies on the null allele of HLA-G gene indicated that its selection may have increased the frequency of the HLA-G*0105N. Studies on the null allele of HLA-G gene could be useful in determining the frequency of genetic variants of HLA-G alleles in different ethnic groups..

Any deviation in the normal descent of the thyroid gland can lead to ectopic thyroid. In this study ten-year comparison of the prevalence of cervical thyroid cancer with retrosternal thyroid was performed.. By knowing prevalence of the disease actions may be performed to know the risk factors associated with the disease. The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of cervical thyroid cancer with retrosternal thyroid in Shahid Beheshti and Ayatollah Rouhani Hospitals in Babol, Iran, during 2000 - 2010.. This cross-sectional study was performed on 158 patients referred to Shahid Beheshti and Ayatollah Rouhani Hospitals in Babol City, Iran, during 10 years (from 2000 - 2010). Demographic characteristics, smoking, family history of thyroid cancer, the signs and symptoms and pathology reports were collected in a checklist format.. From a total of 158 patients with thyroid cancer, 144 cases were diagnosed with cervical thyroid and 14 cases diagnosed with retrosternal thyroid. In both groups, dyspnea and hoarseness were the most prevalent symptoms. The pathology report showed that in the cervical thyroid, benign cases were more than malignant cases but in retrosternal thyroid, the opposite happened.. The prevalence of cervical thyroid was 91.1% and the prevalence of retrosternal thyroid was about 8.9%. The prevalence rates of malignancy in the cervical and retrosternal thyroid were 34.7% and 21.4%, respectively.