Biology subjects

Sorgho, H.

Publications and source records attributed to Sorgho, H..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Postpartum cytokine shifts and IL-10-mediated immune suppression in malaria-infected primigravid women

BackgroundAccording to the World Health Organizations recent report, malaria remains a major health challenge during pregnancy and for postpartum women in endemic regions. While immune alterations during pregnancy are well characterized, postpartum cytokine dynamics and their impact on malaria susceptibility remain poorly defined. This study uniquely investigates how cytokine balance shifts, contribute to malaria susceptibility in primigravid women during the postpartum period. MethodsA total of 33 Burkinabe women were enrolled at delivery and followed up at 1 and 3 months postpartum. Serum cytokine concentrations (IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-, IFN-{gamma}) were quantified by ELISA. Malaria infection was detected by PCR and microscopy. Statistical analyses included effect size calculations and cluster analyses to assess immune profiles. ResultsAt delivery, 48.5% of women tested positive for malaria by PCR. Malaria-infected women had significantly elevated IL-10 levels and a decreased IL-6:IL-10 ratio compared with non-infected women (p = 0.005). This anti-inflammatory shift persisted into the during early postpartum period. Strong correlations were observed between IL-10 levels and malaria infection ({sigma} = 0.9, p < 0.001). Of note, IL-4 also showed a significant effect, highlighting a complex immunoregulatory environment. ConclusionOur findings reveal, for the first time in a Sub-Saharan primigravid cohort, that an IL-10-dominant cytokine profile at delivery is strongly associated with postpartum malaria susceptibility. Modulating cytokine responses could represent a novel therapeutic approach to improving maternal health in malaria-endemic regions.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2024

Expanding the human gut microbiome atlas of Africa

Population studies are crucial in understanding the complex interplay between the gut microbiome and geographical, lifestyle, genetic, and environmental factors. However, populations from low- and middle-income countries, which represent [~]84% of the world population, have been excluded from large-scale gut microbiome research. Here, we present the AWI-Gen 2 Microbiome Project, a cross-sectional gut microbiome study sampling 1,803 women from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. By intensively engaging with communities that range from rural and horticultural to urban informal settlements and post-industrial, we capture population diversity that represents a far greater breadth of the worlds population. Using shotgun metagenomic sequencing, we find that study site explains substantially more microbial variation than disease status. We identify taxa with strong geographic and lifestyle associations, including loss of Treponema and Cryptobacteroides species and gain of Bifidobacterium species in urban populations. We uncover a wealth of prokaryotic and viral novelty, including 1,005 new bacterial metagenome-assembled genomes, and identify phylogeography signatures in Treponema succinifaciens. Finally, we find a microbiome signature of HIV infection that is defined by several taxa not previously associated with HIV, including Dysosmobacter welbionis and Enterocloster sp. This study represents the largest population-representative survey of gut metagenomes of African individuals to date, and paired with extensive clinical biomarkers, demographic data, and lifestyle information, provides extensive opportunity for microbiome-related discovery and research.

microbiology↗