Abstract
Aim: Ectopic pregnancy (EP) is one of the most important causes of maternal mortality. This study aimed to evaluate the immunohistochemical (IHC) expression of the cannabinoid receptor type-1 (CB1) and its association with CB1-1359G/A gene polymorphism (rs1049353) in the fallopian tubes in EP compared to controls.
Methods: In this case-control study, 100 women with EP (cases) and 100 women that underwent abdominal surgery due to the hysterectomy or uterine tubal ligation (healthy controls) were included. Genotyping of CB1-1359G/A polymorphism, tissue expression of CB1 at the protein and mRNA levels were studied using restriction fragment length polymorphism, IHC method, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis.
Results: Genotyping showed that in EP, the frequency of AA, AA+AG genotypes, and A allele was significantly higher than healthy control subjects (p = 0.001). Also, patients with EP had significantly increased IHC expression of CB-1 compared to the control samples (p = 0.016). Patients with AA and AG genotypes had a significantly higher IHC expression of CB-1 compared to the GG genotype. qRT-PCR analysis showed that patients with EP had significantly increased expression of CB-1 compared to the control samples (p < 0.001). Patients with AA and AG genotypes had higher significant mRNA expression of CB-1 compared to the GG genotype.
Conclusions: CB1 is likely to be effective in creating innate immunity in humans and can affect the process of EP in the fallopian tube. CB1 is also a pathological valuable factor in identifying the pathway of inflammation during ectopic implantation.
Keywords: cannabinoid receptor type-1, ectopic pregnancy, immunohistochemistry, polymorphism
© 2021 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
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