Expression of Stemness Markers in the Cervical Smear of Patients with Cervical Insufficiency
Savvia Pittokopitou,
Despina Mavrogianni,
Vasilios Pergialiotis,
Kalliopi I. Pappa,
Panagiotis Antsaklis,
Marianna Theodora,
Michail Sindos,
Angeliki Papapanagiotou,
Aikaterini Domali,
Sofoklis Stavros,
Peter Drakakis,
George Daskalakis
Affiliations
Savvia Pittokopitou
1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
Despina Mavrogianni
1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
Vasilios Pergialiotis
1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
Kalliopi I. Pappa
1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
Panagiotis Antsaklis
1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
Marianna Theodora
1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
Michail Sindos
1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
Angeliki Papapanagiotou
Department of Biological Chemistry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrial University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
Aikaterini Domali
1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
Sofoklis Stavros
1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
Peter Drakakis
1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
George Daskalakis
1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
The presence of stem cells has been previously described in human precancerous and malignant cervical cultures. Previous studies have shown a direct interplay of the stem cell niche, which is present in practically every tissue with the extracellular matrix. In the present study, we sought to determine the expression of stemness markers in cytological specimens collected from the ectocervix among women with cervical insufficiency during the second trimester of pregnancy and women with normal cervical length. A prospective cohort of 59 women was enrolled of whom 41 were diagnosed with cervical insufficiency. The expression of OCT-4 and NANOG was higher in the cervical insufficiency group compared to the control group (−5.03 (−6.27, −3.72) vs. −5.81 (−7.67, −5.02) p = 0.040 for OCT4) and (−7.47 (−8.78, −6.27) vs. −8.5 (−10.75, −7.14), p = 0.035 for NANOG. Differences in the DAZL gene were not significantly different (5.94 (4.82, 7.14) vs. 6.98 (5.87, 7.43) p = 0.097). Pearson correlation analysis indicated the existence of a moderate correlation of OCT-4 and Nanog with cervical length. Considering this information, the enhanced activity of stemness biomarkers among pregnant women diagnosed with cervical insufficiency may be predisposed to cervical insufficiency, and its predictive accuracy remains to be noted in larger population sizes.
