Saving the ovarian function of premature ovarian failure (POF) patients undergoing chemotherapy is an important problem in the field of reproductive medicine. At present, human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (HucMSCs) have been used in the treatment of POF, but the effect is still not optimal. The purpose of this study was to determine whether human umbilical cord blood platelet-rich plasma (ucPRP) enhances the beneficial effects of HucMSCs in the treatment of POF. First, we observed the effects of changes in the biological activity of ucPRP on HucMSCs in vitro. Subsequently, we tracked the distribution and function of the HucMSCs in POF rats, and the rats’ estrus cycle and serum sex hormones, follicular development, ovarian angiogenesis, ovarian granulosa cell proliferation, and apoptosis were assessed. The results of the study showed that the addition of ucPRP in vitro accelerates proliferation and reduces apoptosis of the HucMSCs while upregulating the stemness gene of the HucMSCs. The combined transplantation of HucMSCs and ucPRP resulted in more stem cells being retained in the ovaries of POF rats, the estrus cycle of the POF rats being restored, the levels of serum E2, AMH, and FSH improving, and damaged follicles beginning to grow. Finally, we confirmed that the potential mechanism of the combination of HucMSCs and ucPRP to rescue the ovarian function of POF rats is to promote ovarian angiogenesis and to promote the proliferation and reduce the apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells. The upregulation of AMH and FHSR expression and the downregulation of caspase-3 expression in granulosa cells are potential mechanisms for the recovery of ovarian function. Our research results suggest that the combined application of HucMSCs and ucPRP is a safe and efficient transplantation program for the treatment of POF, thus providing a reliable experimental basis for the clinical application of stem cell therapy in POF.
What is known and objective: Reports said immunotherapy is effective for the treatment of idiopathic recurrent miscarriage (RM). Immunotherapy is invasive, and lymphocyte therapy carries some risk of infection. Oral immunosuppressants have the advantages of simple administration and convenience; however, there is no statistical analysis of whether they can improve pregnancy outcomes in patients with idiopathic RM.Methods: Six databases were searched for studies on oral immunosuppressants and RM; 374 articles were identified. There were two oral immunosuppressants, cyclosporine A and prednisone; two studies were on cyclosporine A and three studies were on prednisone for RM.Results and discussion: In total, 554 RM patients were included in this analysis, including 357 patients who received oral immunosuppressive agents and 197 patients who received basic treatment, placebo, or no treatment. Oral administration of cyclosporine A or prednisolone increases live birth rate (OR = 3.6, 95% CI: 2.1-6.15, p < 0.00001) and ongoing pregnancy rate (OR = 8.82, 95% CI: 2.91-26.75, p = 0.0001) in patients with idiopathic RM. Drug use reduced miscarriage rate (OR = 0.21, 95% CI: 0.08-0.52, p = 0.0007); however, there was significant heterogeneity (I 2 = 73%) and a moderate-to-severe risk of bias. There was no effect on premature birth rate (OR = 2.26, 95% CI: 0.96-5.31, p = 0.06). This meta-analysis cannot provide a reference for the duration of medication treatment because the selected studies had inconsistent durations. What is new and conclusion:We did a statistical analysis and found that oral immunosuppressants (including cyclosporine A or prednisolone) can improve pregnancy outcomes in patients with idiopathic RM, increase live birth rate and ongoing pregnancy rate, and reduce miscarriage rate.
Background Although studies have shown that the microbial presence of follicular fluid (FF) can lead to poor IVF outcomes, there is still a lack of consensus. Objective The aim of the study was to synthesize these disparate studies to comprehensively investigate the potential impact of the microbial presence in the FF of infertile women on IVF outcomes. Search strategy Following preliminary searches to find Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms plus free terms, a systematic search was performed in PubMed in July 2022. Selection criteria The population was infertile women undergoing IVF treatment. The exposure was the microbiota of FF. The positivity of FF was defined according to the original studies. Primary outcomes included the clinical pregnancy rate and fertilization rate Data Collection and Analysis Data collected for each study were analyzed using RevMan 5.4 software available on the Cochrane website. Main results The FFs of 285 women were detected positively by nonspecific flora detection and specific flora detection. The clinical pregnancy rate of the FF-positive group was significantly lower than that of the FF-negative group in the microbial culture and identification group (OR:0.61, 95% CI:0.21-1.71) and in the ELISA test group (OR:0.41, 95% CI:0.21-0.80). In the IPA test group, which included only one study, the pregnancy rate in the FF-positive group was higher than that in the FF-negative group, but the results were low quality. Conclusions Currently, there is still a lack of evidence for the associations of the presence of microorganisms in FF with IVF outcomes.
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