The use of heparin in infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss: Are its antiviral properties at play?

Gestational Viral Infections: Role of Host Immune System

Viral infections in pregnancy are major causes of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Infections can develop in the neonate transplacentally, perinatally, or postnatally (from breast milk or other sources) and lead to different clinical manifestations, depending on the viral agent and the gestational age at exposure. Viewing the peculiar tolerogenic status which characterizes pregnancy, viruses could exploit this peculiar immunological status to spread or affect the maternal immune system, adopting several evasion strategies. In fact, both DNA and RNA virus might have a deep impact on both innate and acquired immune systems. For this reason, investigating the interaction with these pathogens and the host's immune system during pregnancy is crucial not only for the development of most effective therapies and diagnosis but mostly for prevention. In this review, we will analyze some of the most important DNA and RNA viruses related to gestational infections.

The effects of human immunodeficiency virus, human papillomavirus, herpes simplex virus-1 and -2, human herpesvirus-6 and -8, cytomegalovirus, and hepatitis B and C virus on female fertility and pregnancy

Female infertility may be defined as a woman of reproductive age being unable to become pregnant after a year of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. Social, genetic, endocrine, physiological, and psychological factors as well as lifestyle habits (i.e., smoking and alcohol consumption), either alone or in combination with male factors, are major causes. However, approximately 15-30% of cases of female infertility remain unexplained. Numerous investigations have also indicated that microbiomes play an important role in human reproduction. All parts of the female reproductive system may be influenced by infectious and pathological agents, especially viruses, and these may interfere with reproductive function and so are risk factors for infertility, although in many cases an exact role is unclear. We present an overview of the impact of common viral infections on female reproduction, searching Medline, PubMed, Scopus, and Google scholar databases for potentially relevant studies of viruses known to have a potential effect. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), herpes simplex virus (HSV) and human herpesvirus (HHV) increase infertility rates whilst human papillomavirus (HPV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and hepatitis B and C virus (HBV, HCV) infections mostly lead to higher abortion and miscarriage rates. Moreover, HPV infection is linked to increased tubal infertility, endometriosis, and pelvic inflammatory disease. HPV was the most frequently observed infection and with lower pregnancy rate and foetal death in women undergoing IVF treatments. Assisted reproductive treatment could be a safe and effective approach for HIV and HBV infected women.

Hypothesis: Is there a link between the immune response to Human Herpes Virus type 6Α (HHV-6Α) infection and the interaction network (interactome) of the genes encoding the CTSS, PTX3, CHI3L1, Mx1, CXCL16, BIRC3 and BST2 proteins?

Human Herpes Virus type 6 (HHV-6) is a ubiquitous virus consisting of two viral species, HHV-6A and HHV-6B that have been associated with numerous and diverse pathologies. As many other viruses HHV-6 modulates the apoptotic machinery of its host to subvert immune response to infection, yet the exact mechanisms behind this process remain under investigation. The genes encoding the CTSS, PTX3, CHI3L1, Mx1, CXCL16, BIRC3 and BST2 proteins have been linked to HHV-6Α related neurologic diseases whilst also associated with apoptosis. This study aimed at the identification and functional analysis of the gene interaction network (interactome) of CTSS-PTX3-CHI3L1-Mx1-CXCL16-BIRC3-BST2 so as to evaluate the hypothesis of a probable link between the latter and host's immune response to HHV-6A infection.