Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate maternal serum endocan levels, which are markers of vascular pathologies and strongly associated with vascular inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, in pregnancies complicated by intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP). Methods: The study comprised 30 pregnant women with mild ICP, 30 pregnant women with severe ICP, and 30 healthy pregnant women as a control group. The inclusion criteria were women with ICP, which was diagnosed based upon the presence of pruritus associated with elevated total bile acid (TBA) levels (> 10 μm/L), elevated aminotransferases, or both, and the absence of diseases that may produce similar laboratory findings and symptoms. Severe ICP was defined as TBA > 40 μmol/L. After diagnosis for ICP, blood samples were obtained before medication during hospitalization to analyze maternal serum endocan levels. Results: Gestational age at delivery, delivery induction rates, birth weight, and newborn intensive care unit (NICU) admission rates were significantly higher in the severe ICP group than in the control group and mild ICP group. Gestational age for all groups when blood was sampled was similar. Maternal serum TBAs and aminotransferase levels were significantly higher in the severe ICP group than in the control group and mild ICP group. The mean serum endocan levels were 10.9 ± 2.6 ng/mL in the control group, 12.5 ± 2.8 ng/mL in the mild ICP group, and 24.3 ± 4.8 ng/mL in the severe ICP group (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Our results indicated that maternal serum endocan levels were increased in the presence of severe ICP and it can be speculated that increased bile acid levels were associated with maternal endothelial dysfunction.

Objectives: This study aimed to elucidate the effects of messenger RNA (mRNA) and inactivated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines on ovarian histology and reserve in rats. Methods: Thirty female Wistar albino rats, aged 16–24 weeks, were randomly divided into three groups (n = 10): control, mRNA vaccine, and inactivated vaccine groups. Each vaccine group received two doses (on day 0 and day 28) at human-equivalent doses. Four weeks post-second vaccination, ovarian tissues were harvested for analysis. Results: Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to evaluate the expression of transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), caspase-3, and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in ovarian follicles. Both vaccines induced significant increases in TGF-β1, VEGF, and caspase-3 expression, with more pronounced effects in the mRNA vaccine group. Conversely, AMH expression in the granulosa cells of primary, secondary, and antral follicles showed marked reductions (p < 0.001). The counts of primordial, primary, and secondary follicles decreased significantly in the inactivated vaccine group relative to controls and further in the mRNA vaccine group compared to the inactivated group (p < 0.001). Additionally, the mRNA vaccine group exhibited a decrease in antral and preovulatory follicles and an increase in atretic follicles compared to the other groups (p < 0.05). The serum AMH level was diminished with the mRNA vaccination in comparison with the control and inactivated groups. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that both mRNA and inactivated COVID-19 vaccines may detrimentally impact ovarian reserve in rats, primarily through accelerated follicular loss and alterations in apoptotic pathways during folliculogenesis. Given these observations in a rat model, further investigations into the vaccines’ effects on human ovarian reserve are needed.

Background: Adhesion formation is a complex biological process defined as adhesion of intra-abdominal organs to one another or to the abdominal wall with fibrous bands. In recent years, various methods and drugs have been used for preventing the abdominal adhesion. Autologous cytokine rich serum (ACRS) is a blood-derived product obtained by incubating and centrifuging whole blood. It contains various cytokines and factors. Platelet rich plasma (PRP) is a blood product and rich in growth factors. Objective: The aim of this study is to compare and investigate the effects of PRP and ACRS on uterine horn peritoneal adhesion. Methods: The animal material of the study was consisted 42 healthy, 4 months old, non-pregnant female Wistar-Albino rats with 150–200 g, body weight. While 6 of these 42 animals included in the study were used as donors to PRP and ACRS, 36 animals were divided into six groups with 6 rats in each group. Result: Adhesion, inflammatory cell infiltration, TNF-α, IL-6, Col-I, α-SMA scores were compared between groups and ACRS group’s scores were significantly lower than other groups. Conclusion: As result of this study, ACRS treatment has shown to provide more effective manipulation of the inflammatory response. Especially, ACRS treatment has more effective anti-inflammatory effect on peritoneal adhesion was seen with the histopathologic findings of this study. Our current findings suggest that ACRS has an anti-adhesion role by reducing the inflammatory response in adhesion tissues.

Purpose: This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the therapeutic effects of Autologous Cytokine-Rich Serum (ACRS) and Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) in a rat model of endometriosis, focusing on inflammation, angiogenesis, and myofibroblast activity. Methods: A total of 36 adult female Wistar Albino rats were randomly assigned to six groups: healthy control, ACRS-only, PRP-only, endometriosis (EM), EM + ACRS, and EM + PRP. Endometriosis, modeled as lesion formation on the peritoneal wall, was surgically induced in the relevant groups. ACRS and PRP were prepared from autologous blood and administered intraovarianly and intraperitoneally. Lesions were excised for histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis of TNF-α, IL-6 (inflammation), VEGFA (angiogenesis), and α-SMA (fibrosis). Results: Histopathological scores decreased in both EM + ACRS and EM + PRP groups compared to the EM group. ACRS showed stronger anti-inflammatory effects, with lower TNF-α and IL-6 expression. However, ACRS-treated tissues also exhibited elevated VEGFA and α-SMA expression, suggesting increased angiogenesis and stromal activity. Conclusions: Both ACRS and PRP showed therapeutic effects. ACRS more effectively suppressed inflammation but may promote lesion stabilization through enhanced angiogenesis and fibrotic remodeling. These findings highlight the complex biological activity of ACRS, which requires further investigation before clinical translation.