Late-onset Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) refers to impaired growth and development of the fetus, characterized by placental morphological abnormalities that affect the fetus's supply of nutrients. Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) is physiologically expressed during pregnancy, but decreased in normal placenta during the last weeks of gestation possibly inducing childbirth. Several viruses involved in congenital infection, such as herpesviruses, exploit HLA-G expression as an immune-escape mechanism. To date, despite different congenital herpetic infections having been associated with late IUGR, no direct implication of Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infection has been reported. We evaluated HLA-G expression and HHV-6 infection in 11 placentas from late-onset IUGR newborns and 11 placentas from uncomplicated pregnancies by histopathological and immunohistochemistry analysis. We found higher levels of HLA-G expression and HHV-6 presence in IUGR placenta samples compared with control placenta samples.We report HHV-6 staining in IUGR placenta samples, characterized by high HLA-G expression. These preliminary data suggest a possible involvement of HHV-6 infection in HLA-G deregulation that might affect vessel remodeling and prevent the correct pregnancy outcome in the IUGR condition.

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Background There are limited data regarding COVID‐19 vaccination during pregnancy. Objectives To evaluate the effects of COVID‐19 vaccination received during pregnancy on SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, COVID‐19‐related hospitalisation, COVID‐19‐related intensive care unit (ICU) admission and maternal–fetal complications. Search strategy MEDLINE, CINHAL, Embase, Scopus and CENTRAL databases, as well as ClinicalTrials.gov , reference lists, related articles and grey literature sources. Selection criteria Randomised controlled trials, non‐randomised studies of interventions, pregnant women, COVID‐19 vaccination during pregnancy. Data collection and analysis Study selection, risk‐of‐bias assessment, data extraction and assessment of the certainty of evidence using the GRADE method were performed independently by two authors. Meta‐analyses were performed using Cochrane RevMan 5.4. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42022308849. Main results We included 14 observational studies (362 353 women). The administration of a COVID‐19 vaccine during pregnancy resulted in a statistically significant reduction in SARS‐CoV‐2 infection (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.28–0.76) and COVID‐19‐related hospitalisation (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.33–0.51). The effect appeared to be greater in fully vaccinated women, for both infection (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.16–0.59) and hospitalisation (OR 0.15, 95% CI 0.10–0.21). However, the certainty of evidence was very low. The difference in COVID‐19‐related ICU admission between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals did not reach statistical significance (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.13–2.58). Finally, there were no statistically significant differences in any of the maternal–fetal complications considered in the included studies. Conclusions COVID‐19 vaccination administered during pregnancy seems to reduce SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and COVID‐19‐related hospitalisation, with no significant effects on maternal–fetal complications.

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