In the United States identified another risk factor for premature birth

In the American medical school of San Diego, functioning at the University of California, scientists were able to identify another risk factor that provokes premature birth. It turned out to be a gene that encodes a protein that stimulates immune cells to identify and fight against group B strep bacteria.



These bacteria, according to long-known data, are present in one in five women, and they are either in the lower gastrointestinal tract or in the vagina. Transmitted to the fetus, they can lead to serious infectious diseases in newborns, the most dangerous of which are sepsis and meningitis, the consequences of which for children can be extremely sad.

The head of the team of scientists who identified this risk factor, Victor Nizet (professor of pharmacology and pediatrics), said that in modern medicine, checking the presence of such bacteria in pregnant women is a standard procedure, and in case of their detection, antibiotics are administered to protect the fetus.

The research has helped to clearly determine the relationship between the presence of streptococcus bacteria and the risk of the above-mentioned bacterial diseases in newborns, which in the future will make it possible to develop an effective method to combat this problem.

Studying the proteins Siglec-5 (responsible for suppressing the activity of the immune system on the pathogen) and Siglec-14 (activates the activity of immunity), scientists have identified the existing dual role of these receptors, which is the basis of all available information about them. This characteristic, which complements the overall picture of information about proteins, made it possible to clearly indicate the need for their regulation, as well as the direction in which this regulation should be taken.

It was also found that the protein Siglec-14 in some women is absent, which immediately puts them at risk of premature birth. At the same time, it is the absence of this protein that is the main factor that provokes the defeat of the child by strep bacteria.



Source: zeleneet.com