Fig 1.
Comparison of cytokine expression profiles in decidual tissue samples from patients in the unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion(URSA) group and the control group.
The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used for the analysis. Error bars represent standard deviations. *P<0.05.
Fig 2.
Comparison of cytokine expression profiles in peripheral blood samples from patients in the unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion(URSA) group and the control group.
The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used for the analysis. Error bars represent standard deviations. *P<0.05.
Fig 3.
Comparison of signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3), phosphorylated STAT(p-STAT3), interleukin-17 receptor(IL-17R), and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) protein expression levels in decidual tissue harvested from women in the control and unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion(URSA) groups.
(A) Image depicting the expression level of each indicated protein in the control (n = 30) and URSA(n = 30) groups, as detected by western blot analysis. GAPDH was used as a loading control to normalize the protein levels. (B) The relative expression level of each protein was calculated from its densitometric intensity using Image J software. Comparison the respective proteins levels between the two groups are included. Error bars indicate standard deviations. *P>0.05; **P<0.05.
Fig 4.
Model of the regulatory networks of signal transducers and activators of transcription 3(STAT3) and related cytokines.
Interleukin (IL)-23 binds with its receptor IL-23R, and IL-6 binds with its membrane receptor, which could activate the STAT3 protein and promote the transcription of retinoic acid-related orphan receptor gammaT (RORγt). This cascade then promotes the secretion of IL-17, and IL-10 could inhibit the secretion and function of IL-17.