Sudden Intrauterine Unexplained Death (SIUD) and Oxidative Stress: Placental Immunohistochemical Markers

• Published in: Cells (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 13; no. 16; p. 1347
• Main Authors: Montana, Angelo, Alfieri, Letizia, Marino, Raffaella, Greco, Pantaleo, Taliento, Cristina, Fulcheri, Ezio, Tini, Anastasio, Buffelli, Francesca, Neri, Margherita
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 13.08.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Adult; Antibodies; Antioxidants; Apoptosis; Autopsies; Autopsy; Biomarkers - metabolism; Breath tests; CYBB protein; Death; Female; Fetal Death; Fetuses; forensic pathology; Histology; Humans; immunohistochemical markers; Immunohistochemistry; Infants; Interleukin-6 - metabolism; Medical research; NADPH Oxidase 2 - metabolism; Nitric oxide; Nitric-oxide synthase; Nitrogen dioxide; Oxidative Stress; Patient outcomes; Placenta; Placenta - metabolism; Placenta - pathology; Pregnancy; Reproducibility; SIUD; Software; Statistical analysis; Stillbirth; Umbilical cord; United States > US; Italy; Japan; placenta; SIUD; forensic pathology; immunohistochemical markers; oxidative stress
• ISSN: 2073-4409; 2073-4409
• DOI: 10.3390/cells13161347

Intrauterine fetal death and perinatal death represent one of the most relevant medical scientific problems since, in many cases, even after extensive investigation, the causes remain unknown. The considerable increase in medical legal litigation in the obstetrical field that has witnessed in recent years, especially in cases of stillborn births, has simultaneously involved the figure of the forensic pathologist in scientific research aimed at clarifying the pathophysiological processes underlying stillbirth. our study aims to analyze cases of sudden intrauterine unexplained death syndrome (SIUD) to evaluate the role of oxidative stress in the complex pathogenetic process of stillbirth. In particular, the immunohistochemical expression of specific oxidative stress markers (NOX2, NT, iNOS, 8-HODG, IL-6) was evaluated in tissue samples of placentas of SIUDs belonging to the extensive case series (20 cases), collected from autopsy cases of the University of Ferrara and Politecnica delle Marche between 2017 and 2023. The study demonstrated the involvement of oxidative stress in intrauterine fetal deaths in the placenta of the cases examined. In SIUD, the most expressed oxidative stress markers were NOX2 and 8-HODG. The study contributes to investigating the role of oxidative stress in modulating different pathways in unexplained intrauterine fetal death (SIUD) tissues.