Problem: The mechanisms mediating pregnancy loss are far from being understood, but it is believed that modulation of the maternal immune system, that is known to support pregnancy, might serve as a means for the treatment of habitual abortions. Thus, we examined the effect of the anti bacterial agent ciprofloxacin, which was shown to affect maternal immunoreactivity, on pregnancy loss in the resorption-prone CBA/JxDBA/2J mouse combination as well as associated changes in Interleukin (IL)-3 and Granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) production.
Method of study: CBA/J females mated to DBA/2J males were treated with ciprofloxacin for 5 consecutive days. On day 15 of pregnancy, the number of resorbed embryos was recorded and IL-3 mRNA expression as well as IL-3 and GM-CSF protein production by splenocytes were assayed by northern blotting and ELISA, respectively.
Results: Ciprofloxacin treatment resulted in a significant reduction in the resorption rate as compared to the effect of the control antibiotic ceftazidime or PBS only, while not affecting the number of implantation sites/mouse. Also, splenocytes from ciprofloxacin-treated CBA/J mice exhibited an increased level of IL-3 mRNA transcripts as well as an elevation in IL-3 and GM-CSF protein production.
Conclusions: Our data demonstrate the ability of ciprofloxacin to reduce pregnancy loss in the CBA/JxDBA/2J mouse model, possibly via elevation of IL-3 and GM-CSF production.