Premium
Late‐onset intrauterine growth restriction and HHV‐6 infection: A pilot study
Author(s) -
Bortolotti Daria,
Gentili Valentina,
Santi Erica,
Taliento Cristina,
Vitagliano Amerigo,
Schiuma Giovanna,
Beltrami Silvia,
Rizzo Sabrina,
Lanza Giovanni,
Rizzo Roberta,
Gafà Roberta,
Greco Pantaleo
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.27138
Subject(s) - placenta , intrauterine growth restriction , biology , fetus , pregnancy , hla g , immunology , immunohistochemistry , human leukocyte antigen , placental insufficiency , andrology , gestation , antigen , medicine , genetics
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.