Assessment of DNA damage in relation to heavy metal induced oxidative stress in females with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL)

Pregnancy termination consecutively for three or more times during the first trimester is termed as Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). In addition to the abnormal karyotype, heavy metal induced oxidative damage may contribute as prominent etiological factor in pregnancy termination. Oxidative stress is considered crucial in etiology underlying RPL with altered antioxidant status and subsequent DNA damage. The current case controlled study investigated Total antioxidant capacity (TAC), DNA damage (8OHdG) and heavy metals in RPL group (n = 30) and the women with successful pregnancies and no cases of miscarriage as control group (30 women). Heavy metals -Antimony (Sb) and Arsenic (As) were measured by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass spectrophotometry (ICP-MS). There was significant decrease in levels of TAC in RPL group compared to healthy pregnant women (P < 0.05). On contrary, elevated levels of As and Sb were observed in RPL group with subsequent increase in the levels of 8OHdG (P < 0.001); indicating extensive DNA damage in these patients. Furthermore, increased levels of As and Sb in RPL group were positively correlated with 8OHdG and negatively with total antioxidant capacity. The outcome of the study provides clear insight of the role of metal induced oxidative stress that plays a vital role in the pathophysiology underlying RPL.