E-Poster with pre-recorded video presentation Lorne Infection and Immunity 2021

Galectin-1 Plays a Significant Role in Preterm Birth in Women Infected with Ureaplasma urealyticum (#294)

Tanu Bhati 1 , Renu Arora 2 , Suhel Parvez 3 , Sangita Rastogi 4
  1. Molecular Microbiology laboratory, ICMR-National Institute of Pathology, , Sriramachari Bhawan, Safdarjung hospital campus, Post Box no. 4909, NEW DELHI, Delhi, India
  2. Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, VMMC & Safdarjung hospital, NEW DELHI, Delhi, India
  3. Department of Medical Elementology and Toxicology, Jamia Hamdard, Hamdard Nagar, NEW DELHI, Delhi, India
  4. Molecular Microbiology laboratory, ICMR-National Institute of Pathology, , Sriramachari Bhawan, Safdarjung hospital campus, Post Box no. 4909, NEW DELHI, Delhi, India

Introduction

Preterm Birth (PTB) is associated with 75% perinatal mortality and >50% long-term morbidity, such as neuro-developmental problems/ pulmonary dysfunction/ visual impairment. Infections and infection-driven inflammatory responses are considered as leading cause of PTB. Intrauterine infections can induce various stimulatory factors such as galectins/ proinflammatory cytokines/ chemokines/ prostaglandins which can trigger the early onset of labour and lead to PTB. Galectins are endogenous β-galactoside binding lectins, emerging as potential inflammatory mediator. Galectin-1 expresses at the feto-maternal interface and plays key role in maintenance of pregnancy by regulating the maternal immune response against placental alloantigens. Present study aimed to study in situ expression of galectin-1 in placenta of PTB patients infected with the pathogenic bacteria, Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU).

Materials and Methods

After obtaining hospital ethics committee permission, 35 patients (age = 19 - 31 years) undergoing premature delivery at Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Safdarjung hospital, New Delhi, India were enrolled for collection of placental tissue (5cm x 5cm). Polymerase chain reaction assay was performed for UU detection by targeting MBA gene (364 bp) and for ruling out other sexually transmitted diseases (STD) pathogens. Real-time PCR was done for quantification of galectin-1 mRNA expression level by using commercial kit (Vivantis Technologies, Malaysia) as per manufacturer’s guidelines. Data was statistically analyzed by GraphPad Prism version 9.0.

Results

Placental UU was detected in 7 /35 (20%) of PTB patients. Galectin-1 expression was altered and found to be significantly (p < 0.05) upregulated in UU-positive PTB patients versus uninfected PTB patients (n = 28) with a fold change of 2.4.

Conclusions

Results suggest significant association of galectin-1 with PTB and its potential as a determinant for pathological pregnancies. Future studies targeting galectins in larger number of patients undergoing premature delivery are needed.

 

  1. Blois SM, Verlohren S, Wu G, et al. Role of galectin-glycan circuits in reproduction: from healthy pregnancy to preterm birth (PTB). Seminars in Immunopathology, 42: 469–86 (2020)
  2. Singh N, Prasad P, Das B, et al. Does tumour necrosis factor alpha-induced cyclooxygenase-2 expression lead to spontaneous abortion in Chlamydia trachomatis-infected women. Microbial Pathogenesis, 142: 103994 (2020)
  3. Sprong KE, Mabenge M, Wright CA, et al. Ureaplasma species and preterm birth: current perspectives. Critical Reviews in Microbiology, 46(2): 169-81 (2020)
  4. Prasad P, Singh N, Das B, et al. Cytokine-induced expression of nitric oxide synthases in Chlamydia trachomatis-infected spontaneous aborters. The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 32(21): 3511-9 (2019)
  5. Kong F, Ma Z, James G, et al. Species identification and subtyping of Ureaplasma parvum and Ureaplasma urealyticum using PCR-based assays. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 38 (3): 1175-9 (2000)