Biomarkers of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and nitric oxide-(NO)-dependent oxidative stress in women who miscarried

Pregnancy loss is a multidisciplinary problem which concerns researchers from the fields of medicine, epidemiology, psychology, and public health. The primary objective of the present study was to explain the potential role of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in the process of spontaneous miscarriage. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to assess the levels of biomarkers of NETs in the serum of examined women was conducted. Furthermore, levels of nitric oxide (NO) and late markers of its action were measured in serum samples. Analyses results demonstrated the existence of NETs in the placental tissue of women who miscarried as well as a simultaneous increase in the levels of myeloperoxidase and pentraxin 3. This clearly confirms the participation of NETs in the course of pregnancy loss. Women who have had a miscarriage but did not show the presence of NETs in their placenta exhibited the highest contents of NO, nitrotyrosine, and malondialdehyde suggesting a different pathway leading to pregnancy loss associated with disturbed oxidative–antioxidative processes. Although study results demonstrate new aspects associated with the formation of NETs they are not, however, sufficient to unambiguously determine the role of NETs in the course of miscarriage.