Pregnancy outcomes following the administration of high doses of dexamethasone in early pregnancy.
OBJECTIVE
In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of high doses of dexamethasone (DEX) in early pregnancy on pregnancy outcomes.


METHODS
Pregnant BALB/c mice were treated with high-dose DEX in the experimental group or saline in the control group on gestational days (GDs) 0.5 to 4.5. Pregnant mice were sacrificed on GDs 7.5, 13.5, or 18.5 and their peripheral blood, placentas, fetuses, and uterine tissue were collected. Decidual and placenta cell supernatants were examined to evaluate the effect of DEX on the proliferation of mononuclear cells, the quantity of uterine macrophages and uterine natural killer (uNK) cells, and levels of progesterone and 17β-estradiol, as determined by an 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, immunohistochemistry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. We also were measured fetal and placental growth parameters on GD 18.5.


RESULTS
We found that high doses of DEX were associated with an increased abortion rate, enhancement of the immunosuppressive effect of the decidua, alterations in placental growth parameters, decreased progesterone and 17β-estradiol levels, and a reduced frequency of macrophages and uNK cells.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that the high-dose administration of DEX during early pregnancy negatively affected pregnancy outcomes.
Department of Pathobiology and Medical Laboratory Science, School of Medicine, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnord, Iran.
Hasan
H
Namdar Ahmadabad
Department of Biology, Payame Noor University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
Sabah
S
Kayvan Jafari
Department of Pathobiology and Medical Laboratory Science, School of Medicine, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnord, Iran.
Maryam
M
Nezafat Firizi
Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Sciences, School of Medicine, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnord, Iran.
Ali Reza
AR
Abbaspour
Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Sciences, School of Medicine, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnord, Iran.
Fahime
F
Ghafoori Gharib
Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Yusef
Y
Ghobadi
Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Samira
S
Gholizadeh
Abortion; Dexamethasone; Estradiol; Macrophage; Natural killer cell; Pregnancy; Progesterone