HOW SAFE IS THE USE OF OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDICATIONS BY PREGNANT WOMEN?

Abstract

Although it is strongly recommended that pregnant women avoid taking medication during pregnancy, some drugs are often indicated by physicians to treat their ailments. Recent studies describe the in vitro and in vivo effects of these medications, but their effects on trophoblasts cytotoxicity and maintenance/conversion of Tregs has not been studied in detail. We tested the cytotoxic effects in a mouse trophoblast cell line (SM9.1 cells), and the Treg maintenance/conversion by these cells, under the influence of 3 medications: Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, and Cephalexin. Cytotoxic effects in SM9.1 cells and changes in Treg cell maintenance/conversion were observed only at relatively high medication doses. The direct correlation between medication doses and SM9.1 cytotoxicity can contribute to deleterious effects of these medications during pregnancy, while the Treg maintenance/conversion for some medications at tested concentrations were increased. Therefore, a better understanding of how these drugs affect the physiology of different cell types is needed.