Browsing by Author "Gotsch, Francesca"

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    Evidence for a polarized Th1 response in the maternal circulation in women with preterm labor and intra-amniotic inflammation/infection
    (2006) Espinoza, Jimmy; Kusanovic, Juan Pedro; Hassan, Sonia; Edwin, Samuel S.; Gotsch, Francesca; Kim, Chong Jai; Than, Nandor Gabor; Erez, Offer; Nien, Jyh Kae; Gómez Mora, Ricardo Alberto; Yoon, Bo Hyun; Romer, Roberto
    OBJECTIVE: Most work examining the immune response to intra-amniotic infection has focused on the study of amniotic fluid (AF) cytokines. An adequate characterization of the full range of maternal pro- and antiinflammatory cytokines is lacking. This is important, because of emerging evidence that complications of infection result from an anti-inflammatory response. The purpose of this study was to characterize the maternal cytokine response in women with preterm labor with and without intra-amniotic infection/inflammation (IAI). STUDY DESIGN: This study focused on patients with preterm labor in the following groups: 1) term delivery (n = 157); 2) preterm delivery without IAI (n = 126); and 3) IAI (n = 50). IAI was defined as a positive AF culture or an elevated AF WBC count. Maternal plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-1b, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-13, interferon gamma, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and tumor necrosis factor alpha were determined. A p!0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: 1) Patients with IAI had higher plasma concentrations of IL-6 than those without IAI who delivered preterm [median: 12.5 pg/ml, range: 0-355.5 vs.7.4 pg/ml, range: 0.74-179.3; p = 0.04), and those who delivered at term (median: 5 pg/ml, range: 0-541.4; p = 0.01); 2) Patients with IAI had higher plasma concentrations of IL-8 than those who delivered at term (median:11.1 pg/ml, range: 0.29-82 vs. median: 6 pg/ml, range: 0.4-84.3; p = 0.02) but not than those without IAI who delivered preterm (median: 7.9, range: 1.3-90.2; pO0.05); and 3) There were no significant differences in the plasma concentrations of the rest of the cytokines (11 of 13) among groups. CONCLUSION: IL6 and IL8 are increased in the maternal circulation in cases of intra-amniotic infection/inflammation. The lack of a demonstrable anti-inflammatory response is in sharp contrast to what has been reported in non-pregnant patients
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    Pregnancy-specific responses to COVID-19 revealed by high-throughput proteomics of human plasma
    (2023) Gomez-Lopez, Nardhy; Romero, Roberto; Escobar, Maria Fernanda; Carvajal, Javier Andres; Echavarria, Maria Paula; Albornoz, Ludwig L.; Nasner, Daniela; Miller, Derek; Gallo, Dahiana M.; Galaz, Jose; Arenas-Hernandez, Marcia; Bhatti, Gaurav; Done, Bogdan; Zambrano, Maria Andrea; Ramos, Isabella; Fernandez, Paula Andrea; Posada, Leandro; Chaiworapongsa, Tinnakorn; Jung, Eunjung; Garcia-Flores, Valeria; Suksai, Manaphat; Gotsch, Francesca; Bosco, Mariachiara; Than, Nandor Gabor; Tarca, Adi L.
    Gomez-Lopez et al. profile the plasma proteome of pregnant and non-pregnant COVID-19 patients and controls. Shared and pregnancy-specific proteomic changes are identified in COVID-19 patients compared to controls, with the proteome accurately identifying COVID-19 patients, even when asymptomatic.
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    The change in concentrations of angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors in maternal plasma between the first and second trimesters in risk assessment for the subsequent development of preeclampsia and small-for-gestational age
    (TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2008) Erez, Offer; Romero, Roberto; Espinoza, Jimmy; Fu, Wenjiang; Todem, David; Kusanovic, Juan Pedro; Gotsch, Francesca; Edwin, Samuel; Nien, Jyh Kae; Chaiworapongsa, Tinnakorn; Mittal, Pooja; Mazaki Tovi, Shali; Than, Nandor Gabor; Gomez, Ricardo; Hassan, Sonia S.
    Introduction. An imbalance between angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors has been proposed as central to the pathophysiology of preeclampsia (PE). Indeed, patients with PE and those delivering small-for-gestational age (SGA) neonates have higher plasma concentrations of soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (sVEGFR-1) and the soluble form of endoglin (s-Eng), as well as lower plasma concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and placental growth factor (PlGF) than do patients with normal pregnancies. Of note, this imbalance has been observed before the clinical presentation of PE or the delivery of an SGA neonate. The objective of this study was to determine if changes in the profile of angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors in maternal plasma between the first and second trimesters are associated with a high risk for the subsequent development of PE and/or delivery of an SGA neonate.