Morfologia strutturale ed ultrastrutturale delle cellule del liquido amniotico: differenze di genere

INTRODUCTION:Gender Medicine, based on the scientific studies conducted, aims to ensure that both man and woman are the best therapeutic treatment possible for certain pathologies. "They are males or females not only on the basis of sex, but also in relation to other aspects of the physiology of the body and the roles we play in society" (Franconi-Catastini). The term "sex" refers to differences based on biology, while gender is understood as the set of differences based on culture. Gender differences, from the scientific point of view, are the triumph of the epigenetics defined by Denise Barlow, "all those occult and wonderful things that genetics can not explain." It fills the gap between nature and culture and on the biological plane is characterized by DNA modifications that affect the genome without altering the sequence of the same DNA and which can be transferred to subsequent cell generations. Epigenetics are all those activities that regulate genes through chemical processes (diet and drugs) that do not involve changes in the DNA sequence, but which can alter the phenotype of the individual and/or progeny. The environment, both internal and external, can influence the expression of our genes. It is regulated by the environment in a rather coarse but very detailed way. There are molecules that, depending on the surrounding stimuli, can be activated or deactivated and then go on to activate the expression of certain genes rather than deactivating it.AIM:With this study we try to highlight whether there are gender differences in the structural and ultrastructural morphology of amniotic fluid cells in order to design a research field based on morphological analysis even before growth, with conditions that They may favor indications on the stages of evolution of the embryo and consequently evaluate any gender differences.MATERIALS AND METHODS:the amniotic fluid cells represent a heterogeneous population derived from the three embryonic leaves. These cells share an epithelial origin and are derived from the development of the embryo and the inner area of the amniotic membrane. The largest contribution of the population of cells is given by fetal skin, fetal digestive tract, and urinary tract, respiratory tract and placental membranes. The amniotic fluid is a protective fluid for the embryo during its development. It provides nutrients and nutrients necessary for embryogenesis. Amniocentesis has been used for many decades as a routine procedure for determining the fetal karyotype and prenatal diagnosis, enabling the revelation of a variety of genetic pathologies. It therefore represents a rich source of population of stem cells from the fetus and the membrane surrounding the liquid itself. For our study, amniotic fluid cells (ages between 15 and 20 weeks gestation) were extracted from amniotic fluid through amniocentesis, prenatal diagnosis technique for karyotype study. The following parameters were taken into account: sex of the fetus, the age of the pregnant, smocking before and / or during pregnancy, any genetic diseases of the unborn child. To avoid differences in these parameters, we chose to study gender differences between healthy amniotic fluid XX and XY cells and non-smoking women. In vitro experimental data show that cell proliferation is higher for amniotic fluid XX cells compared to XY and there are no significant differences in cell death. Other studies on neural stem cells show increased proliferation in response to estrogen, while androgens have inhibitory effects on their proliferation. The difference in the mean values of the two groups is not large enough to reject the possibility that the difference is due to random sampling variability. There is no statistically significant difference between the groups (P = 0.170).RESULTS: Female cells show greater proliferation than male cells, but the difference in the mean values of the two male and female cell groups is not large enough to reject the possibility that this difference is due to random sampling variability (P = 0.170).CONCLUSIONS:Amniotic fluid cells have been used in prenatal diagnosis for over many years. They have proven to be a safe, reliable and simple screening tool for recognizing genetic diseases. The studies conducted so far are still few to confirm that there is a certain difference between male and female cells of structural and ultrastructural morphology.