Midtrimester microbial DNA variations in maternal serum of women who experience spontaneous preterm birth.

: To evaluate if midtrimester maternal serum contains microbial DNA and whether it differs between women with spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB) and those delivering at term.: In this retrospective case-control study, we identified 20 healthy nulliparas with SPTB at 24-33 weeks of a nonanomalous singleton in 2014. Each case was matched by race/ethnicity to a control delivering at 39-40 weeks.

Midtrimester Cervicovaginal Microbiota: Identification of Microbial Variations Associated with Puerperal Infection at Term.

Objective This study aims to evaluate differences in the midtrimester cervicovaginal microbiota between women who developed puerperal infections at term and those who did not, and whether obesity modulates this relationship. Methods Previously, cervicovaginal swabs were collected at 21 to 25 weeks gestation (stored at -80°C). Samples were identified from Black women with normal vaginal flora (Nugent score: 0-2) delivering term singletons.

Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction to Assess Response to Treatment of Bacterial Vaginosis and Risk of Preterm Birth.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) bacterial load measurement is a valid method to assess response to treatment of bacterial vaginosis and risk of preterm birth in pregnant women.

Study Design: Secondary analysis by utilizing stored vaginal samples obtained during a previous randomized controlled trial studying the effect of antibiotics on preterm birth (PTB). All women had risk factors for PTB: (1) positive fetal fibronectin (n=146), (2) bacterial vaginosis (BV) and a prior PTB (n=43), or (3) BV and a prepregnancy weight<50 kg (n=54).

The influence of human leukocyte antigen class I alleles and their population frequencies on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 control among African Americans.

Populations of African ancestry continue to account for a disproportionate burden of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) epidemic in the United States. We investigated the effects of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I markers in association with virologic and immunologic control of HIV-1 infection among 338 HIV-1 subtype B-infected African Americans in 2 cohorts: Reaching for Excellence in Adolescent Care and Health (REACH) and HIV Epidemiology Research Study (HERS). One-year treatment-free interval measurements of HIV-1 RNA viral loads and CD4(+) T cells were examined both separately and combined to represent 3 categories of HIV-1 disease control (76 controllers, 169 intermediates, and 93 noncontrollers).

Human leukocyte antigen class I supertypes and HIV-1 control in African Americans.

The role of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I supertypes in controlling human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in African Americans has not been established. We examined the effects of the HLA-A and HLA-B alleles and supertypes on the outcomes of HIV-1 clade B infection among 338 African American women and adolescents. HLA-B58 and -B62 supertypes (B58s and B62s) were associated with favorable HIV-1 disease control (proportional odds ratio [POR] of 0.

Human leukocyte antigen B58 supertype and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection in native Africans.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I alleles can be grouped into supertypes according to their shared peptide binding properties. We examined alleles of the HLA-B58 supertype (B58s) in treatment-naïve human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-seropositive Africans (423 Zambians and 202 Rwandans). HLA-B and HLA-C alleles were resolved to four digits by a combination of molecular methods, and their respective associations with outcomes of HIV-1 infection were analyzed by statistical procedures appropriate for continuous or categorical data.

Positive and negative associations of human leukocyte antigen variants with the onset and prognosis of adult glioblastoma multiforme.

Associations of genetic factors with malignant gliomas have been modest. We examined the relationships of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and related polymorphisms to glioblastoma multiforme in adult Caucasians (non-Hispanic Whites) from the San Francisco Bay area. For 155 glioblastoma multiforme patients and 157 control subjects closely matched by ethnicity, age, and gender, PCR-based techniques resolved alleles at HLA-A, -B, -C, and -DRB1 loci along with short tandem repeat polymorphisms of MICA exon 5 and TNFb.

HLA-B, -DRB1/3/4/5, and -DQB1 gene polymorphisms in human immunodeficiency virus-related Kaposi's sarcoma.

Polymorphisms of genes in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex, particularly those encoding HLA-DR, have been suggested as markers of susceptibility to Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). We conducted a case-control study comparing 147 homosexual men who developed KS after infection by human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) and human herpes virus 8 (HHV8) with 147 matched dually infected men without HIV-associated KS (HIV-KS) from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. HLA-B, DRB1, DRB3, DRB4, DRB5, and DQB1 polymorphisms were examined by high-resolution DNA-based methods.

Transmission of HIV-1 and HLA-B allele-sharing within serodiscordant heterosexual Zambian couples.

Factors that might increase risk of HIV-1 transmission include age, sex, and amount of HIV-1 RNA in plasma, but findings for HLA allele-sharing are not in agreement. We tested the hypothesis that allele sharing at HLA loci is associated with increased risk of transmission of HIV-1 infection in cohabiting heterosexual Zambian couples. We studied 125 initially serodiscordant partners with sequence-confirmed interpartner HIV-1 transmission and 104 couples who were persistently serodiscordant, and we analysed relations with molecularly typed HLA-A, B, and C alleles by survival techniques.

HLA-DRB1 and -DQB1 alleles and haplotypes in Zambian couples and their associations with heterosexual transmission of HIV type 1.

In 292 initially human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1-serodiscordant and cohabiting Zambian couples, HLA-DRB1 and -DQB1 variants were associated with HIV-1 transmission events during a 7-year follow-up period. Initially seronegative partners with either DRB1*0301-DQB1*0201 (relative hazard [RH], 1.60; P=.

HLA and cytokine gene polymorphisms are independently associated with responses to hepatitis B vaccination.

Variable immune responses to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and recombinant HBV vaccines have been associated with polymorphisms in several genes within the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex. Analyses of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based genotyping data from 164 North American adolescents vaccinated with recombinant HBV products confirmed that HLA-DRB1*07 (relative odds [RO] = 5.18, P <.

Cytokine and chemokine gene polymorphisms among ethnically diverse North Americans with HIV-1 infection.

Twenty-four common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 10 cytokine and chemokine genes were defined in 579 North Americans at high risk of HIV-1 infection due to sexual behavior and injection drug use. Among the 3 major ethnic (African-American, Hispanic/Latino, and other) groups involved, HIV-1-seropositive individuals differed significantly from ethnically matched HIV-1-seronegative individuals (odds ratios = 2.13-4.

HLA allele sharing and HIV type 1 viremia in seroconverting Zambians with known transmitting partners.

Rapid HIV type 1 (HIV-1) mutation coupled with immune evasion poses a major obstacle to effective interventions. In particular, transmission of HIV-1 from a donor partner (transmitter) to a recipient (seroconverter) with similar antigen-presenting molecules (i.e.

Host genetic profiles predict virological and immunological control of HIV-1 infection in adolescents.

Objective: To evaluate the correlation between host genetic profiles and virological and immunological outcomes among HIV-1-seropositive participants from the Reaching for Excellence in Adolescent Care and Health (REACH) cohort.

Methods: HLA class I and chemokine coreceptor (CCR) alleles and haplotypes were resolved in 227 HIV-1-seropositive adolescents (ages 13-18 years; 75% females; 71% African-Americans) and 183 HIV-seronegative individuals, with quarterly follow-up visits between 1996 and 2000. Each HLA and CCR variant with consistent risk and protective effect on HIV-1 pathogenesis was assigned a score of -1 and +1, respectively.

Favorable and unfavorable HLA class I alleles and haplotypes in Zambians predominantly infected with clade C human immunodeficiency virus type 1.

The setpoint of viral RNA concentration (viral load [VL]) during chronic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection reflects a virus-host equilibration closely related to CD8(+) cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses, which rely heavily on antigen presentation by the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) (i.e., HLA) class I molecules.