Dr. Pao-Lin Kuo (Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

The prevalence of obesity among women of reproductive age is increasing. Obesity represents a chronic low-grade inflammatory state and NLRP3 inflammasome plays a pivotal role in obesity-induced inflammation. Obesity is associated with an increased risk of recurrent miscarriage (RM), but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Abnormal inflammasome activation was also identified in the endometrium of women who experienced RM. Given inflammasome activation has emerged as common pathophysiology in obesity-related disorder and RM, the investigators wonder whether inflammasome activation occurs in the uterine macrophages of obese women, and result in early reproductive failure.