Abstract
Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) belongs to the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)/secretin/ glucagon peptide family and functions in reproductive system relative to follicular maturation, ovulation, fertilization, and successful pregnancy.
The aim of this study is to investigate if PACAP, VIP and their receptors (PAC1 and VPAC2) expression in the subepithelium of oviduct are have an important role of ectopic pregnancy (EP) and missed abortion (MA) pathogenesis.
The study was conducted on women with normal oviduct (NonP) (n=7), EP (n=10) and MA (n=10). PACAP, VIP, PAC1 and VPAC2 antibodies were used for immunostaining and their expressions were evaluated by HSCORE technique.
This study showed that PACAP, VIP and their receptors (PAC1 and VPAC2) were expressed in the subepithelium of oviduct on all groups. The NonP group showed a higher PACAP and expression in the subepithelium of NonP than EP and MA group. However, there was no differences PAC1 and VPAC2 expression in the subepithelium of oviduct of NonP, EP and MA group.
In conclusion, the expression of PACAP, VIP, PAC1 and VPAC2 expression in oviduct from women related to missed abortion and ectopic pregnancy. The differential expressions and localizations of these proteins suggest their effective roles in ectopic pregnancy and missed abortion, especially in subepithelium regions.