Abstract Immunity and hormonal responses in the reproductive tissues of postmenopausal women are poorly understood. Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI), a multifunctional antimicrobial ...protein expressed at mucosal surfaces, is thought to play a key role in infectious and inflammatory contexts. The aim of this study was to measure SLPI production along the female reproductive tract in postmenopausal women with and without hormonal treatment. We additionally quantified estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and progesterone receptor A (PRA) in these tissues. Expression of SLPI was decreased in the vagina and ectocervix of women under hormonal treatment. Endocervical ERα mRNA expression was increased while this did not reach significance at the protein level. SLPI expression in the endometrium was not influenced by hormonal treatment. We observed attenuated ERα expression in the cervix and endometrium of hormonally treated women, whereas vaginal expression was increased. PRA expression was augmented in the cervix and endometrium and unchanged in the vagina. Taken together, our results indicate that hormonal responses and receptor expression are differentially regulated in vaginal tissue compared with the cervix and endometrium.
Background:
Pregnancy mobile applications (apps) have grown in popularity over the past decade, with some being used to promote study recruitment or health behaviors. However, no app serves as an ...all-in-one solution for collecting general data for research purposes and providing women with useful and desirable features.
Aim:
To create and develop a Swiss pregnancy mobile app as an innovative means to collect research data and provide users with reliable information.
Methods:
Determining the key features of the app involved a review of the literature and assessment of popular apps in the Swiss AppStore. A team of engineers developed the app, which includes a pregnancy timeline, questionnaires for data collection, medical and psychological articles and a checklist with appointment reminders. The content was written and reviewed by healthcare providers considered experts in the topics adressed. The questionnaires are distributed based on the user’s gestational age, by a chatbot. The project was authorized by the ethics commission in the canton of Vaud. An online survey of ten questions, advertised on Datamama’s home screen, was conducted to assess the users’ use of the app (27.11- 19.12.2022).
Results:
A review of 84 articles and 25 popular apps showed the need for a comprehensive pregnancy app. The development of Datamama took 2 years and included the creation of 70 medical and psychological articles and 29 questionnaires covering 300 unique variables. Six months after the launch, there were 800 users with a 73% average participation rate in the questionnaires. Sixty-five women completed the survey, with 70.8% using the app once to multiple times per week. The primary reason for using the app was to help research by answering the questionnaires, followed by access to reliable medical information. The reason most frequently ranked first for using the app was to help research by answering the questionnaires (42/65, 67% of women rated it first), followed by access to reliable medical information (34/65, 54% women rated it second). Women rated the information as clear, understandable, and interesting with a trust rating in data handling at 98.5%. The average grade for recommending the app was 8/10, with suggestions for increasing the amount of medical content and tailoring it based on gestational age.
Conclusion:
Datamama is the first pregnancy app to address the needs of both patients and researchers. Initial feedback from users was positive, highlighting future challenges for success. Future work will consist in improving the app, validating the data and use it to answer specific pregnancy-related research questions.
Abstract Objective Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is an important regulator of fetal growth and its bioavailability depends on insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs). Genes coding ...for IGF-I and IGFBP3 are polymorphic. We hypothesized that either amniotic fluid protein concentration at the beginning of the second trimester or genotype of one of these two genes could be predictive of abnormal fetal growth. Study design Amniotic fluid samples (14–18 weeks of pregnancy) from 123 patients with appropriate for gestational age (AGA) fetuses, 39 patients with small for gestational age (SGA) fetuses and 34 patients with large for gestational age (LGA) were analyzed. Protein concentrations were evaluated by ELISA and gene polymorphisms by PCR. Results Amniotic fluid IGFBP3 concentrations were significantly higher in SGA compared to AGA group ( P = 0.030), and this was even more significant when adjusted to gestational age at the time of amniocentesis and other covariates (ANCOVA analysis: P = 0.009). Genotypic distribution of IGF-I variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphism was significantly different in SGA compared to AGA group ( P = 0.029). 19CA/20CA genotype frequency was threefold decreased in SGA compared to AGA group and the risk of SGA occurrence of this genotype was decreased accordingly: OR = 0.289, 95%CI = 0.1–0.9, P = 0.032. Genotype distribution of IGFBP3(A-202C) polymorphism was similar in all three groups. Conclusions High IGFBP3 concentrations in amniotic fluid at the beginning of the second trimester are associated with increased risks of SGA while 19CA/20CA genotype at IGF-I VNTR polymorphism is associated with reduced risks of SGA. Neither IGFBP3 concentrations, nor IGF-I/IGFBP3 polymorphisms are associated with modified risks of LGA.
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