tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Am J Obstet Gynecol
. 2022 Sep 17;S0002-9378(22)00747-5.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.09.023. Online ahead of print.
Diminished Antiviral Innate Immune Gene Expression in the Placenta Following a Maternal SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Brahm Coler[SUP] 1 [/SUP], W U Tsung-Yen[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Lindsey Carlson[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Nicole Burd[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Jeff Munson[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Orlando Cervantes[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Sean Esplin[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Raj P Kapur[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Helen Feltovich[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Kristina M Adams Waldorf[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Matthew Dacanay[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and is associated with critical illness requiring hospitalization, maternal mortality, stillbirth, and preterm birth. SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to induce placental pathology, however, substantial gaps exist in our understanding of the pathophysiology of COVID-19 disease in pregnancy and the long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the placenta and fetus. To what extent a SARS-CoV-2 infection of the placenta alters the placental antiviral innate immune response is not well understood. A dysregulated innate immune response in the setting of maternal COVID-19 disease may increase risk for inflammatory tissue injury or placental compromise and contribute to deleterious pregnancy outcomes.
Objective: We sought to determine the impact of a maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on placental immune response by evaluating gene expression of a panel of six antiviral innate immune mediators that act as biomarkers of the antiviral and interferon cytokine response. Our hypothesis was that a SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy would result in an upregulated placental antiviral innate immune response.
Study design: We performed a case control study on placental tissues [chorionic villous (CV) tissues and chorioamniotic membrane (CAM)] collected from pregnant patients with (N=140) and without (N=24) COVID-19 disease. We performed real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and immunohistochemistry. Placental histopathology was evaluated. Clinical data was abstracted. Fisher's exact test, Pearson correlations, and linear regression models were used to examine proportions and continuous data between patients with active (<10 days since diagnosis) versus recovered COVID-19 (>10 days since diagnosis) at time of delivery. Secondary regression models adjusted for labor status as a covariate and evaluated potential correlation between placental innate immune gene expression and other variables.
Results: SARS-CoV-2 vRNA was detected in placental tissues from 5 women with COVID-19 and from no controls (0/24, 0%). Only 1 of 5 cases with detectable SARS-CoV-2 vRNA in placental tissues was confirmed to express SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid and spike proteins in syncytiotrophoblast cells. We detected a significantly lower gene expression of five critical innate immune mediators (IFNB, IFIT1, MXA, IL6, IL1B) in CV and CAM from women with active or recovered COVID-19 compared to controls, which remained significant after adjustment for labor status. There were minimal correlations between placental gene expression and other studied variables including: gestational age at diagnosis, time interval from COVID-19 diagnosis and delivery, pre-pregnancy body mass index, COVID-19 disease severity or placental pathology.
Conclusion: A maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with an impaired placental innate immune response in chorionic villous tissues and chorioamniotic membranes that was not correlated with gestational age at COVID-19 diagnosis, timer interval from COVID-19 diagnosis to delivery, maternal obesity, disease severity or placental pathology.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; chorioamniotic membrane; chorionic villous; fetus; immune response; placenta; pregnancy.
. 2022 Sep 17;S0002-9378(22)00747-5.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.09.023. Online ahead of print.
Diminished Antiviral Innate Immune Gene Expression in the Placenta Following a Maternal SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Brahm Coler[SUP] 1 [/SUP], W U Tsung-Yen[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Lindsey Carlson[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Nicole Burd[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Jeff Munson[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Orlando Cervantes[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Sean Esplin[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Raj P Kapur[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Helen Feltovich[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Kristina M Adams Waldorf[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Matthew Dacanay[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 36126729
- DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.09.023
Abstract
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and is associated with critical illness requiring hospitalization, maternal mortality, stillbirth, and preterm birth. SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to induce placental pathology, however, substantial gaps exist in our understanding of the pathophysiology of COVID-19 disease in pregnancy and the long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the placenta and fetus. To what extent a SARS-CoV-2 infection of the placenta alters the placental antiviral innate immune response is not well understood. A dysregulated innate immune response in the setting of maternal COVID-19 disease may increase risk for inflammatory tissue injury or placental compromise and contribute to deleterious pregnancy outcomes.
Objective: We sought to determine the impact of a maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on placental immune response by evaluating gene expression of a panel of six antiviral innate immune mediators that act as biomarkers of the antiviral and interferon cytokine response. Our hypothesis was that a SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy would result in an upregulated placental antiviral innate immune response.
Study design: We performed a case control study on placental tissues [chorionic villous (CV) tissues and chorioamniotic membrane (CAM)] collected from pregnant patients with (N=140) and without (N=24) COVID-19 disease. We performed real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and immunohistochemistry. Placental histopathology was evaluated. Clinical data was abstracted. Fisher's exact test, Pearson correlations, and linear regression models were used to examine proportions and continuous data between patients with active (<10 days since diagnosis) versus recovered COVID-19 (>10 days since diagnosis) at time of delivery. Secondary regression models adjusted for labor status as a covariate and evaluated potential correlation between placental innate immune gene expression and other variables.
Results: SARS-CoV-2 vRNA was detected in placental tissues from 5 women with COVID-19 and from no controls (0/24, 0%). Only 1 of 5 cases with detectable SARS-CoV-2 vRNA in placental tissues was confirmed to express SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid and spike proteins in syncytiotrophoblast cells. We detected a significantly lower gene expression of five critical innate immune mediators (IFNB, IFIT1, MXA, IL6, IL1B) in CV and CAM from women with active or recovered COVID-19 compared to controls, which remained significant after adjustment for labor status. There were minimal correlations between placental gene expression and other studied variables including: gestational age at diagnosis, time interval from COVID-19 diagnosis and delivery, pre-pregnancy body mass index, COVID-19 disease severity or placental pathology.
Conclusion: A maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with an impaired placental innate immune response in chorionic villous tissues and chorioamniotic membranes that was not correlated with gestational age at COVID-19 diagnosis, timer interval from COVID-19 diagnosis to delivery, maternal obesity, disease severity or placental pathology.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; chorioamniotic membrane; chorionic villous; fetus; immune response; placenta; pregnancy.