Objectives: We aimed to determine the presence, amount and origin of microchimerism in peripheral blood of pregnant and non-pregnant parous women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) as compared... Show moreObjectives: We aimed to determine the presence, amount and origin of microchimerism in peripheral blood of pregnant and non-pregnant parous women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) as compared to control subjects. Methods: We performed a comparative study in which peripheral blood was drawn from eleven female non-pregnant SLE-patients and 22 control subjects, and from six pregnant SLE-patients and eleven control subjects during gestation and up to six months postpartum. Quantitative PCR for insertion-deletion polymorphisms and null alleles was used to detect microchimerism in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and granulocytes. Results: Microchimerism was detected more often in non-pregnant SLE-patients than control subjects (54.4% vs. 13.6%, respectively; p=0.03). When present, the median total number of foetal chimeric cells was 5 gEq/106 in patients and 2.5gEq/106 in control subjects (p=0.048). Microchimerism was mostly foetal in origin; maternal microchimerism was detected in one patient and one control subject. In control subjects, microchimerism was always derived from only one source whereas in 50% of patients it originated from multiple sources. The pregnant patients had a significantly higher median number of foetal chimeric cells in the granulocyte fraction just after delivery than control subjects (7.5 gEq/106 vs. 0 gEq/106, respectively; p=0.02). Conclusions: Just after delivery, SLE-patients had more microchimerism than control subjects. Three months post-partum, microchimerism was no longer detectable, only to reappear many years after the last pregnancy, more often and at higher levels in SLE-patients than in control subjects. This suggests that these chimeric cells may originate from non-circulating foetal chimeric stem cells. Show less
Background. Female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) has been associated with prevalent HIV-1. We estimated the incidence of HIV-1 infection in Zambian women with and without FGS.Methods. Women (aged... Show moreBackground. Female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) has been associated with prevalent HIV-1. We estimated the incidence of HIV-1 infection in Zambian women with and without FGS.Methods. Women (aged 18-31, nonpregnant, sexually active) were invited to participate in this study in January-August 2018 at the final follow-up of the HPTN 071 (PopART) Population Cohort. HIV-1-negative participants at enrollment (n = 492) were included in this analysis, with testing to confirm incident HIV-1 performed in HPTN 071 (PopART). The association of incident HIV-1 infection with FGS (Schistosoma DNA detected by polymerase chain reaction [PCR] in any genital specimen) was assessed with exact Poisson regression.Results. Incident HIV-1 infections were observed in 4.1% (20/492) of participants. Women with FGS were twice as likely to seroconvert as women without FGS but with no statistical evidence for a difference (adjusted rate ratio, 2.16; 95% CI, 0.21-12.30; P = .33). Exploratory analysis suggested an association with HIV-1 acquisition among women with >= 2 positive genital PCR specimens (rate ratio, 6.02; 95% CI, 0.58-34.96; P = .13).Conclusions. Despite higher HIV seroconversion rates in women with FGS, there was no statistical evidence of association, possibly due to low power. Further longitudinal studies should investigate this association in a setting with higher schistosomiasis endemicity. Show less
Utzinger, J.; Becker, S.L.; Lieshout, L. van; Dam, G.J. van; Knopp, S. 2015
