Late-onset intrauterine growth restriction and HHV-6 infection: A pilot study.

Late-onset Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) refers to impaired growth and development of the fetus, characterized by placental morphological abnormalities that affect the fetus's supply of nutrients. Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) is physiologically expressed during pregnancy, but decreased in normal placenta during the last weeks of gestation possibly inducing childbirth. Several viruses involved in congenital infection, such as herpesviruses, exploit HLA-G expression as an immune-escape mechanism. To date, despite different congenital herpetic infections having been associated with late IUGR, no direct implication of Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infection has been reported. We evaluated HLA-G expression and HHV-6 infection in 11 placentas from late-onset IUGR newborns and 11 placentas from uncomplicated pregnancies by histopathological and immunohistochemistry analysis. We found higher levels of HLA-G expression and HHV-6 presence in IUGR placenta samples compared with control placenta samples. We report HHV-6 staining in IUGR placenta samples, characterized by high HLA-G expression. These preliminary data suggest a possible involvement of HHV-6 infection in HLA-G deregulation that might affect vessel remodeling and prevent the correct pregnancy outcome in the IUGR condition.

The PLART study: incidence of preterm labor and adverse pregnancy outcomes after assisted reproductive techniques-a retrospective cohort study.

KEY MESSAGE: Even though assisted reproductive techniques represent one of the greatest achievements in modern medicine, the risk of preterm birth related to these pregnancies is about twice as high. This must be highlighted and further investigated to optimize the management of both mothers and newborns. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare adverse pregnancy outcomes after assisted reproductive techniques (ART) and spontaneous conceptions, focusing on the incidence of preterm births (PTB) and distinguishing between iatrogenic and spontaneous events. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study analyzed single births of one Italian hospital. The incidence of PTBs in ART pregnancies, divided into iatrogenic procedures, spontaneous preterm labors and preterm premature ruptures of the membranes (pPROMs), was compared with the non-ART control group. The incidence of other adverse pregnancy outcomes and the types of delivery were also reported and compared. RESULTS: Of the 11,769 single births included, 2.39% were conceived by ART. The incidence of PTBs was 4.74% for spontaneous pregnancies and 12.8% for ART pregnancies (aOR 1.93; 95% CI 1.29-2.88). The percentage of iatrogenic procedures was 27.78% in the ART-PTBs' group and 30.88% in the non-ART-PTBs' controls. ART pregnancies showed an increased incidence of pPROMs (6.40% versus 2.41%), preterm labors (2.85% versus 0.93%), hypertensive disorders of the pregnancy (8.19% versus 2.32%), placenta previa (3.20% versus 0.59%), cesarean sections (28.47% versus 16.27%) and vacuum extractions (10.32% versus 5.19%). CONCLUSIONS: Singleton ART pregnancies have a higher risk of PTB which is mostly linked to a higher incidence of pPROMs and spontaneous preterm labor. The concurrency of a demonstrated higher risk of hypertensive gestational disorders and placenta previa suggests that placental development plays an important role in the pathogenesis of PTB.

Case report: Tissue positivity for SARS-CoV-2 in a preterm born infant death of thrombosis: possible intrauterine transmission.

Intrauterine transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2) is still matter of debate among scientists and there is limited information concerning this aspect of research. This could lead to severe complications of the growing fetus and, theoretically, of the newborn as well. We report the case of a male infant of 1,100 grams, born at 27th week of gestation to a SARS-CoV-2 mother, tested negative for viral detection at delivery. He was immediately admitted to neonatal Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for severe complications, where he died after 37 days by pulmonary embolism and thrombosis of the superior vena cava. After autopsy, SARS-CoV-2 N-protein and Spike RBD were detected in several tissues, particularly in the esophagus, stomach, spleen, and heart, with a significantly higher H-Score than the placenta. In conclusion, immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated SARS-CoV-2 NP and Spike RBD positivity in different tissues suggesting a possible intrauterine transmission. Newborn thrombo-embolism could be a complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection as observed in adult patients.

Effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy on CD147, ACE2 and HLA-G expression.

INTRODUCTION: Recent studies reported a differential expression of both ACE2 and CD147 in pregnant women associated to SARS-CoV-2 placental infection. The aim of this study is to further investigate the placental SARS-CoV-2 infection and the potential effect on protein expression (ACE2, CD147, HLA-G and CD56). METHODS: The study was on three subgroups: i) 18 subjects positive for SARS-CoV-2 swab at delivery; ii) 9 subjects that had a positive SARS-CoV-2 swab during pregnancy but resulted negative at delivery; iii) 11 control subjects with physiological pregnancy and with no previous or concomitant SARS-CoV-2 swab positivity. None of the subjects were vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The placenta samples were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 NP (Nucleocapsid protein) positivity and the expression of ACE2, CD147, HLA-G and CD56. RESULTS: We observed a higher percentage of SARS-CoV-2 NP positive placenta samples in the group of SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive at delivery in comparison with SARS-CoV-2 PCR negative at delivery. The localization of SARS-CoV-2 NP positivity in placenta samples was mainly in syncytiotrophoblast (ST) of SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive at delivery group and in extra-villous trophoblast (EVT) of SARS-CoV-2 PCR negative at delivery group. CD147, HLA-G positivity was higher in ST of SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive at delivery group, while CD56-expressing immune cells were decreased in comparison with control subjects. DISCUSSION: We confirmed the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to infect placenta tissues. The simultaneous SARS-CoV-2 swab positivity at delivery and the positivity of the placenta tissue for SARS-CoV-2 NP seems to create an environment that modifies the expression of specific molecules, as CD147 and HLA-G. These data suggest a possible impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy, that might be worthy to be monitored also in vaccinated subjects.

Vaginal Microbiota and Cytokine Microenvironment in HPV Clearance/Persistence in Women Surgically Treated for Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia: An Observational Prospective Study.

High-risk human papillomaviruses (hrHPVs) are causally related to cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and subsequent cervical cancer (CC). The vaginal microbiome has been suggested to play a role in the development of CC, but the effect of conservative surgical treatment on the microbiome and hrHPV elimination has not been elucidated. In this study, we aimed to characterize the vaginal microbiome and inflammatory chemokine profile in 85 women treated for CIN2-CIN3 lesions, before and after surgical CIN removal. The results showed, as expected, a high prevalence of dysbiotic microbiomes and vaginal pro-inflammatory cytokines in the CIN cohort, correlated with disease severity, at the basal level. By contrast, surgical CIN removal induced significant vaginal microbiome variations, and specific microbiome/cytokine profiles were associated with hrHPV clearance/persistence at 6-month follow-up. hrHPV-cleared patients, in fact, showed a specific increase of L. crispatus and decrease of dysbiosis and inflammatory cytokines compared to hrHPV-persistent patients. These data highlight the crosstalk between HPV and the local microbiome, and suggest that vaginal microbiome modulation might represent a novel approach to modifying the natural history of hrHPV-related CC. Study registration n. ISRCTN34437150 (https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN34437150).

Avaliação das condições higiênico-sanitárias do comércio ambulante, para a intervenção junto aos manipuladores de alimentos / Evaluation of the sanitary conditions of street salesmen, to intervention with food handlers

A higiene é fundamental, para prevenir a grande quantidade de doenças que são transmitidas através dos alimentos e que constitui um dos principais problemas de saúde pública na maioria dos países. Os alimentos vendidos na rua têm maior possibilidade de sofrerem alterações biológicas devido à falta de controle higiênico-sanitário. Os vendedores ambulantes geralmente não realizam práticas de higiene comuns e estão em contato com a poluição urbana, longe da proteção de um estabelecimento coberto, costumam estar mais expostos à contaminação por micro-organismos, roedores e insetos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as condições do comércio ambulante de alimentos, em uma região da cidade de São Carlos, SP. Foi elaborado um questionário adaptado à Resolução Estadual SS143/93, que foi aplicado em onze pontos de venda. Evidenciados os problemas existentes, foi elaborado um material educativo com o objetivo de colaborar no processo de conscientização sobre segurança alimentar.