Tumor necrosis factor-alpha promoter polymorphisms are associated with idiopathic primary ovarian insufficiency in Korean women

A review of autoimmunity and immune profiles in patients with primary ovarian insufficiency

Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a complicated clinical syndrome characterized by progressive deterioration of ovarian function. Autoimmunity is one of the main pathogenic factors affecting approximately 10% to 55% of POI cases. This review mainly focuses on the role of autoimmunity in the pathophysiology of POI and the potential therapies for autoimmunity-related POI. This review concluded that various markers of ovarian reserve, principally anti-Müllerian hormone, could be negatively affected by autoimmune diseases. The presence of lymphocytic oophoritis, anti-ovarian autoantibodies, and concurrent autoimmune diseases, are the main characteristics of autoimmune POI. T lymphocytes play the most important role in the immune pathogenesis of POI, followed by disorders of other immune cells and the imbalance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. A comprehensive understanding of immune characteristics of patients with autoimmune POI and the underlying mechanisms is essential for novel approaches of treatment and intervention for autoimmune POI.

Association between TNF-α gene polymorphisms and susceptibility of myelodysplastic syndromes: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) constitute a heterogeneous group of clonal hematological diseases. Previous investigations reported that tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) gene polymorphisms were associated with MDS susceptibility, but the results remained controversial. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to higher elucidate the correlation between TNF-α gene polymorphisms and MDS susceptibility.

METHODS

The PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wan Fang databases were searched for eligible literatures published up to July 2021. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were applied to evaluate the strength of association.

RESULTS

Eight studies involving 1180 MDS patients and 1387 controls were included in this meta-analysis. For the TNF-α G308A polymorphism, we confirmed that the G allele (G versus A: P = 0.001), GG genotypes (GG versus GA: P = 0.005; GG versus GA + AA: P = 0.002), and GG + AA genotypes (GG + AA versus GA: P = 0.008) was significantly associated with decreased MDS susceptibility according to different genetic models. Furthermore, the G308A polymorphism was significantly correlated with decreased occurrence risk of MDS in the Caucasian population as compared with Asians in the above four genetic models (P < 0.05). However, no significant association was observed between the TNF-α G238A polymorphism and MDS risk.

CONCLUSION

This research showed that TNF-α G308A polymorphism might be a potential biomarker in early clinical screening of MDS, which would contribute to improving the individualized prevention of MDS patients in clinic.

Advances in biomaterials and regenerative medicine for primary ovarian insufficiency therapy

Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) is an ovarian dysfunction that affects more than 1 % of women and is characterized by hormone imbalances that afflict women before the age of 40. The typical perimenopausal symptoms result from abnormal levels of sex hormones, especially estrogen. The most prevalent treatment is hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which can relieve symptoms and improve quality of life. However, HRT cannot restore ovarian functions, including secretion, ovulation, and fertility. Recently, as part of a developing field of regenerative medicine, stem cell therapy has been proposed for the treatment of POI. Thus, we recapitulate the literature focusing on the use of stem cells and biomaterials for POI treatment, and sum up the underlying mechanisms of action. A thorough understanding of the work already done can aid in the development of guidelines for future translational applications and clinical trials that aim to cure POI by using regenerative medicine and biomedical engineering strategies.

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This paper illustrates the in-vivo, in-vitro, and cell-free treatments for POI using stem cells and biomaterials.

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We provide basic theories and suggestions for future research and clinical therapy translation.

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This review can help researcher to develop guidelines on stem cells treating POI.

Association between tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) genetic polymorphisms and primary ovarian insufficiency (POI)

BACKGROUND

Until now, an association between tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) polymorphisms and primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) has not been identified. The aim of our study was to investigate whether the TIMP polymorphisms TIMP1T > C (rs4898), TIMP1G > A (rs6609533), TIMP2G > C (rs8179090), TIMP2G > A (rs2277698), TIMP3G > A (rs135029), and TIMP4T > C (rs3755724), which regulate matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), confer a risk for primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) in Korean women (further studies would be required to evaluate the associations between TIMP polymorphisms and POI in other populations).

METHODS

We genotyped 137 POI patients and 236 controls for the single nucleotide polymorphism sites using PCR-RFLP analysis. Differences in the frequencies of the TIMP1T > C (rs4898), TIMP1G > A (rs6609533), TIMP2G > C (rs8179090), TIMP2G > A (rs2277698), TIMP3G > A (rs135029), and TIMP4T > C (rs3755724) genotypes between patients and controls were compared, and odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were determined to measure of the strength of the association between the genotypes and POI.

RESULTS

The TIMP1T > C (rs4898), TIMP1G > A (rs6609533), TIMP2G > C (rs8179090), TIMP2G > A (rs2277698), TIMP3G > A (rs135029), and TIMP4T > C (rs3755724) genotypes, but especially the TIMP2 genotypes, were found more frequently in POI patients than in control subjects. Among the four TIMP loci, the TIMP1T > C (rs4898), TIMP1G > A (rs6609533), TIMP2G > C (rs8179090), TIMP2G > A (rs2277698), TIMP3G > A (rs135029), and TIMP4T > C (rs3755724) haplotypes were identified more frequently in POI patients than in control subjects and conferred susceptibility to POI (P <0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

The TIMP2G > C (rs8179090) and G > A (rs2277698) alleles were strongly associated with POI. Our data suggest that the minor TIMP2 alleles may increase POI risk in Korean women.

Polymorphisms in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (-863C>A, -857C>T and +488G>A) are associated with idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss in Korean women

Polymorphisms in TNF-a have been reported as genetic risk factors for recurrent spontaneous abortion and TNF-α may be immunologically important. We therefore examined the contribution of several TNF-a mutations to this phenomenon. The study participants consisted of 388 patients with idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), which was diagnosed on the basis of at least two consecutive spontaneous abortions; control subjects were 224 healthy women with a history of successful pregnancies. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was performed to determine the TNF-α -863C>A, -857C>T, and +488G>A genotypes. The TNF-α -863C>A variants correlated with increased risk of RPL (CA+AA; adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.142; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.493-3.074). These data did not differ in a stratified analysis according to number of consecutive spontaneous abortions. In haplotype analysis, there were similar trends of data for combination analysis, but in patients with 3+ pregnancy losses, a stratified analysis revealed that this correlation did not increase directly with the number of pregnancy losses. The TNF-α -863C>A variant is a possible genetic risk factor for idiopathic RPL in Korean women.