Gene Expression Analysis of VEGF and Its Receptors and Assessment of Its Serum Level in Unexplained Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion

Objective: unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (ursa) is one of the main complicationsof pregnancy which is usually defined as three or more consecutive pregnancylosses before the 20th week of gestation without a known cause. vascular endothelialgrowth factor (vegf) is a potent angiogenic factor and shown, along with its receptors(vegfr1, 2), to play important roles in several physiologic processes including reproduction.the aim of the present study was to analyze gene expression of vegf and vegfreceptors in endometrium of patients with a history of ursa compared with normal fertilewomen. in addition, serum vegf concentration was assessed and compared betweenthe two groups at the same time.materials and methods: in this case control study, endometrial and blood samples wereobtained between day 19th and 24th of menstrual cycle (window of implantation) from 10women with a history of ursa (case group) and 6 fertile women who had at least onesuccessful pregnancy (control group). expression of vegf and vegfrs was studied byreverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr) and then quantified by realtime pcr. normalization of expression levels was done by comparison with beta-actinexpression level as an internal control. relative vegf, vegfr1 and vegfr2 expressionquantities were compared between the two groups. enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(elisa) was used for serum vegf assay.results: vegf, vegfr1 and vegfr2 gene expression was detected in endometrial samplesof both groups. the mean relative expression of vegf gene was lower in the case groupcompared with control women, however, both vegf receptors were expressed higher in endometriumof the case group. in addition, the serum level of vegf was significantly higher in thecase group compared with the controls.conclusion: alteration in gene expression of vegf and its receptors in endometriumand changes of serum vegf might play important roles in pathogenesis of unexplainedrsa.