Maternal HIV Status Linked to Inflammation in Pregnancy

Maternal HIV status is associated with inflammation/immune activation during pregnancy, which may affect child growth, according to a study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. Stephanie Shiau, PhD, MPH, and colleagues examined the associations of HIV status, model of acquisition, and type of ART with inflammation/immune activation in pregnancy using data for 188 pregnant people with HIV (PWH; 39 perinatally acquired and 149 non-perinatally acquired) and 76 HIV-seronegative persons. In adjusted models, PWH had increased interleukin (IL)-6, soluble tumor necrosis factor alpha receptor 1 (sTNFR1), sCD14, and sCD163 and lower sTNRF2 relative to HIV-seronegative persons. Higher sCD163 was seen with perinatally acquired versus non-
perinatally acquired HIV and with protease inhibitor-based versus integrase strand transfer inhibitor-based ART. Poorer growth at 12 months was observed in association with higher maternal concentrations of IL-6, sTNFR2, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. “Future research is warranted to better understand the role of ART in systemic
inflammation/immune activation during pregnancy and whether modulating inflammation in pregnancy may improve maternal and infant health outcomes for pregnant PWH and their children,” Dr. Shiau and colleagues wrote.