Apoptosis and p53 expression in the placental villi of females with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion

The aim of this study was to explore the level of apoptosis and p53 expression in the placental villi of patients with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA). Fifty-three pregnant females with URSA and 32 pregnant females who required an induced abortion were selected as the subjects of this study. Placental villus tissues were collected from June 2010 to June 2012 and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and immunohistochemical analysis were performed to determine the mRNA and protein levels of p53 in the placental villus tissues. The level of apoptosis in the tissues was studied using terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. The mRNA and protein expression levels of p53 in the URSA group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). Furthermore, the levels of apoptosis were increased markedly in the URSA group compared with the control group (P<0.05). In conclusion, the placental villi of patients with URSA express a high level of p53, which may result in cell apoptosis and lead to recurrent spontaneous abortion.