Expression of Stemness Markers in the Cervical Smear of Patients with Cervical Insufficiency

Abstract

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.

Keywords

• preterm birth
• cervical insufficiency
• OCT-4
• DAZL
• Nanog
• stemness markers