title: Thiol/disulfide homeostasis in patients with idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss assessed by a novel assay: Report of a preliminary study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the relationship between idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) and oxidative stress (OS) by means of thiol/disulfide homeostasis via a novel technique.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-nine pregnant women diagnosed with idiopathic RPL were compared with 50 healthy pregnant women without a history of abortion. Idiopathic RPL was defined as experiencing two or more consecutive miscarriages prior to 20 weeks of gestation with the presence of normal karyotypes of couple and/or abortus materials, negative maternal screening for anticardiolipin, anti β 2 glycoprotein antibodies and lupus anticoagulant, normal thyroid stimulating hormone, prolactin and hemoglobin A1C levels and normal pelvic sonography and/or hysterosalpingography. A new and fully automated method was used to measure plasma native thiol, total thiol and disulfide levels, based on the reduction of dynamic disulfide bonds to functional thiol groups by sodium borohydrate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women with idiopathic RPL had significantly lower plasma levels of native thiol (341.89 ± 50.0 μmol/L vs. 390.84 ± 38.5 μmol/L, P < 0.001) and total thiol (386.18 ± 51.7 μmol/L vs. 435.78 ± 42.3 μmol/L, P < 0.001). Disulfide/thiol and disulfide/total thiol ratios were significantly higher in the study group. The native thiol/total thiol ratio was significantly lower in patients with idiopathic RPL. No difference was measured in disulfide, albumin and total protein plasma levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The main outcome of our study indicates a relation between idiopathic RPL and OS. More importantly, the new method used in our study proposes a promising, practical and daily applicable test for evaluating patients with idiopathic RPL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Perinatology, Dr. Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Care, Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kudret
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Erkenekli
authors.affiliation: Department of Perinatology, Dr. Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Care, Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cem Yasar
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Sanhal
authors.affiliation: Department of Perinatology, Dr. Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Care, Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Aykan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yucel
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cemile Koca
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Bicer
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ozcan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Erel
authors.affiliation: Department of Perinatology, Dr. Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Care, Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Uygur
mesh_terms: D000026:Abortion, Habitual / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D001894:Borohydrides / Q000378:metabolism; D004220:Disulfides / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011247:Pregnancy; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001894:Borohydrides; D004220:Disulfides; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; C025364:sodium borohydride
keywords: disulphide; oxidative stress; recurrent pregnancy loss; thiol