Objective: To determine the frequency of primary cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in pregnant Egyptian women using CMV IgG avidity testing. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Suez Canal University Hospital, Ismailia, Egypt. A total of 546 pregnant women, presenting for routine antenatal screening, were tested for CMV IgG and IgM using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Sera from CMV IgM-positive women were tested by CMV IgG avidity assay. Results: All the 546 pregnant women were seropositive for anti-CMV IgG. Of the 546 women, 40 (7.3%) were positive or equivocal for IgM antibodies. All sera from the 40 women (IgG+/IgM+) showed a high or intermediate CMV IgG avidity index. Of the 40 women, 23 (57.5%) were in the second or third trimesters of pregnancy and had their first-trimester blood retrieved, and the tested CMV IgG avidity assay showed a high avidity index. Conclusion: Women who were IgM positive had no primary CMV infection in the index pregnancy as evidenced by the high CMV IgG avidity testing.

Intrauterine infection is one of the main etiologies associated with preterm delivery. Cytokines involved in chorioamnionitis, including IL-l, TNF-a, IL-6, IL-8, and MCPl, activate different pathways that lead to preterm delivery. Antileukinate (AL) is a potent selective IL-8 inhibitor that binds to CXC receptors 1&2 on neutrophils, thereby inhibiting IL-8-induced neutrophil chemotaxis and degranulation. Since CXC receptors 1&2 are critically involved in the pathology of chorioamnionitis, their inhibition with AL may have therapeutic potential. Four timed-pregnant C57BL6 mice groups were studied. LPS group received LPS intraperitoneally on gestational day (GD) 15. The AL group received LPS on GD15 followed immediately by intraperitoneal AL injection and repeated on GDI6, and 17. Control groups received either saline, or no injections. In the LPS group, 90% delivered within 24 hours after LPS administration compared to 20% in the AL group. The LPS group had 85% stillborn compared to 15% in the AL group. Uterine histopathology AL group showed evidence of less inflammatory reaction compared to the LPS group. Uterine tissue and serum from the AL group had a significant reduction of inflammatory cytokines compared with the LPS group. Cytokine levels in brain and lung tissues from surviving pups were not significantly different between the AL and control groups. Our data show that antileukinate significantly delays preterm delivery in a mouse model of chorioamnionitis, and reduces neonatal mortality and morbidity.

In the present study, we evaluate the serum level of common autoimmunologic markers in ‎women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and study their relationship with ‎hormonal ‎parameters. The study was ‎an observational case-control study, done in a Tertiary referral hospital, the study ‎included ‎50 women with polycystic ovary syndrome and 50 matched control.‎ Serum levels of Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) and anti-double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) were significantly higher in polycystic ovary ‎syndrome women compared to control. Also, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and LH/FSH ratio were ‎significantly higher in polycystic ovary syndrome women compared to control. ‎dsDNA had excellent ability to differentiate PCOS from control (AUC=0.901) while ANA had good discrimination ability ‎‎(AUC=0.809). There was a significant direct relationship between ANA, dsDNA, and TSH ‎with FSH in PCOS women, ‏also a ‎significant direct relationship between ANA and TSH with LH, while ‎DsDNA did not correlate with LH. In conclusion, there is a clear relationship between immunological markers (ANA, dsDNA) with ‎‎polycystic ovary syndrome in various components of the disease, dsDNA offer better ability than ANA as a predictor of PCOS, indicating that dsDNA can be used as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for PCOS.