Predicting intrauterine infection risk in newborns based on morphometric parameters of placental terminal villi

Aim . To evaluate the prognostic value of micromorphometry of placental terminal villi for early diagnosis of intrauterine infections in newborns. Materials and methods . A molecular genetic and micromorphometric study of 34 placentas obtained from women whose pregnancy ended in preterm labor at 30-36 weeks and 46 placentas of persons who gave birth to full-term babies was performed. In samples of placental tissue, the polymerase chain reaction was used to identify the genome of the following pathogens of intrauterine infections: Mycoplasma hominis , Mycoplasma genitalium , Ureaplasma species ( Ureaplasma urealyticum + Ureaplasma parvum ), Chlamydia trachomatis , Streptococcus agalactiae , Streptococcus pyogenes , Staphylococcus aureus , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Haemophilus influenza , Listeria monocytogenes , Cytomegalovirus , Herpes simplex virus , Human herpes virus 4 type , Human herpes virus 6 type , Parvovirus B19 . Morphometry was performed using an image analysis system on a Carl Zeiss microscope and Axio Imager software. An average number of capillaries in the terminal villi and the distance from the capillaries to the syncytiotrophoblast were calculated. Results . The genome of intrauterine infection pathogens was detected in 55.9% of placentas from preterm birth, including DNA of Ureaplasma species – 29.4%, Mycoplasma hominis – 23.5%, Mycoplasma genitalium – 5.9%, Streptococcus agalactiae – 11.7%, Cytomegalovirus – 5.9%, Human herpes virus 4 type – 14.8% as a part of mono- and co-infections. In full-term pregnancy, the infection of the placentas was found to be 3.4 times less – 16.3% (p<0.0002). In monoinfections, DNA of Ureaplasma species – 4.6%, Mycoplasma hominis – 6.9%, Streptococcus agalactiae – 2.3%, Human herpes virus 4 type – 2.3% were detected. An average number of capillaries (abs. value) in the terminal villi of infected placentas, both at full-term (5.35±1.07) and premature (3.97±0.19) pregnancies, proved to be significantly less than in uninfected placentas (5.74±0.05 and 4.63±0.28), respectively. An average distance from the capillaries (µm) of the terminal villi to the syncytiotrophoblast in infected placentas both at full-term (1.62±0.15) and premature pregnancies (2.20±0.2) proved to be significantly greater than in uninfected placentas (1.02±0.03 and 1.72±0.14, respectively). Conclusion . Comparison of the morphometric parameters of terminal villi in the examined placenta with an average rate of infected and uninfected placentas of full-term and premature pregnancies makes it possible to predict the risk of intrauterine infection in a newborn.