[1, 2] Risk factors for spontaneous abortion may occur for many reasons, not all of which can be identified. Some of these risk factors include genetic factors,[3] immunological factors,[4] chromosomal abnormalities of the embryo or foetus,[5] hormonal problems, infections and abnormalities of the

uterus.[6, 7] Complement activation is increasingly recognized as a major contributor to reproductive injury.[8] During complement activation, the primary role of C1q is to recognize and activate the signal that triggers the classical pathway of complement; however, C1q can itself function as a potent extracellular signal for a wide range of cells, resulting in the induction of ligand-specific biological responses.[9] The receptor for Erlotinib clinical trial the globular head of C1q,

gC1qR, was initially identified as a protein of the mitochondrial matrix. There is evidence that gC1qR mediates many biological Navitoclax supplier responses, including inflammation, infection and immune regulation.[10] gC1qR-induced T-cell dysfunction involves the induction of suppressor of cytokine signalling (SOCS), a powerful inhibitor of cytokine signalling, which represents a novel mechanism.[11] Indeed, examples of such responses include growth perturbations, morphological abnormalities and the initiation of apoptosis.[12] gC1qR is widely distributed in decidual stroma;[13] therefore, our present study aimed to assess the effect of gC1qR gene expression on human extravillous cytotrophoblast (EVCT)-derived transformed cells apoptosis; moreover, we aimed to investigate whether the gC1qR-induced biological changes were effected through a mitochondria-dependent pathway in human EVCT-derived transformed cells. Lipofectamine 2000 was purchased from Invitrogen (Carlsbad, CA, USA). 2′, 7′-Dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (H2DCFDA) was obtained from Molecular Probes (Eugene, OR, USA). The Phototope-HRP Western Blot Detection System, including an anti-mouse IgG, an HRP-linked antibody, a biotinylated protein ladder, 20× LumiGLO Reagent next and 20× peroxide, was purchased from

Cell Signaling Technology (Beverly, MA, USA). The annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide (PI) Flow Cytometry Assay Kit was purchased from Invitrogen. Antibodies targeting gC1qR, calnexin, histone Hi, mitochondrial single-stranded DNA-binding protein (mtSSB) and actin were the products of Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA, USA) and Cell Signaling Technology. Pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) and ethyleneglycol-bis-(b-aminoethylether) N, N, N‚ N‚-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) were purchased from Invitrogen. Cell culture supplies were purchased from Life Technologies (Gaithersburg, MD, USA). Unless otherwise specified, all other reagents were of analytical grade. The human EVCT-derived transformed cell lines HTR-8/SVneo and HPT-8 were kindly supplied by Hangzhou Hibio Bio-tech Co., Ltd (Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China).