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The concentrations of endometrial proteins PP14 and CA-125 were measured in uterine flushings taken on days LH + 10 and LH + 12 (10 and 12 days after luteinizing hormone surge) of the menstrual cycle from 15 normal, fertile women and 49 women who suffered recurrent miscarriage. The concentration of PP14 was significantly lower in the flushings from the recurrent miscarriage patients than in those from fertile controls on both day LH + 10 (median: 1300, range: 3-10 300 ng/ml versus median: 13 933, range: 2174-40 404 ng/ml; P < 0.01) and LH + 12 (median: 1560, range: 820-12 100 ng/ml versus median: 14 047, range 1402-62 108 ng/ml; P < 0.05). Similarly concentrations of CA-125 were significantly lower in flushings from recurrent miscarriage women compared to controls on both day LH + 10 (median: 1555, range: 47-6710 U/ml versus median: 6385.5, range 2884-27 731 U/ml, P < 0.01) and LH + 12 (median: 2892, range: 956-9974 U/ml versus median: 7127.5, range: 1591-21 343 U/ml; P < 0.05). In contrast there was no significant difference in the concentration of PP14 in plasma samples taken on the same days as the flushings from recurrent miscarriage patients and fertile controls. The concentrations of PP14 in uterine flushings obtained on day LH + 10 or LH + 12 from recurrent miscarriage women during a pre-pregnancy investigative cycle were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in patients who went on to miscarry (median: 1000, range: 9-2900 ng/ml) than those who went on to have a live birth (median: 1440, range: 4-12 100 ng/ml) during a subsequent pregnancy. In contrast there was no significant difference in uterine CA-125 or plasma PP14 concentrations between these two groups of recurrent miscarriage patients. The results suggest that measurements of uterine PP14 and CA-125 may be useful in the assessment of endometrial development in recurrent miscarriage patients and suggest the importance of PP14 in preparing the endometrium for embryo implantation. In addition, pre-pregnancy uterine PP14 measurements may be useful in predicting subsequent pregnancy outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

SummaryBackground: Prolonged ischaemia followed by reperfusion (I/R) of skeletal muscle results in significant tissue injury. Ischaemic preconditioning (IPC), achieved by repeated brief periods of I/R before prolonged ischaemia or adenosine pretreatment, can prevent I/R injury in cardiac muscle. The aim of this study was to ascertain in a rodent model if damage to skeletal muscle due to global hindlimb tourniquet-induced I/R could be similarly attenuated. Methods: Anaesthetized rats were randomized (n = 6–10 per group) to five groups: sham-operated controls; I/R (4 h of ischaemia, 2 h of reperfusion); IPC (three cycles of 10 min of ischaemia/10 min of reperfusion) alone; IPC immediately preceding I/R; or adenosine 1000 μg/kg immediately before I/R. At the end of reperfusion, biopsies were taken from the left gastrocnemius muscle for measurement of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and reduced glutathione (GSH). Before ischaemia and at the end of reperfusion, blood samples were taken for measurement of nitric oxide metabolites, tumour necrosis factor (TNF) α and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP) 2. Results: IPC before I/R resulted in lower levels of MPO (P < 0·001) and TNF-α (P = 0·004), and higher levels of GSH (P < 0·001) and nitric oxide metabolites (P = 0·002) than I/R alone. Adenosine had effects comparable to IPC pretreatment (P < 0·001 for MPO, P = 0·002 for GSH, P = 0·02 for nitric oxide metabolites and P = 0·001 for TNF-α). There was no difference in the blood pressure or the MIP-2 concentration among the groups. Conclusion: IPC or pretreatment with adenosine ameliorates the I/R injury of skeletal muscle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]