tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Cell Rep Med
. 2021 Nov 4;100456.
doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100456. Online ahead of print.
SARS-CoV-2 can infect and propagate in human placenta explants
Amal Fahmi[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Melanie Brügger[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Thomas Démoulins[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Beatrice Zumkehr[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Blandina I Oliveira Esteves[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Lisamaria Bracher[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Carlos Wotzkow[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Fabian Blank[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Volker Thiel[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], David Baud[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Marco P Alves[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to lead to high morbidity and mortality. During pregnancy, severe maternal and neonatal outcomes and placental pathological changes have been described. We evaluate SARS-CoV-2 infection at the maternal-fetal interface using precision-cut slices (PCSs) of human placenta. Remarkably, exposure of placenta PCSs to SARS-CoV-2 leads to a full replication cycle with infectious virus release. Moreover, the susceptibility of placental tissue to SARS-CoV-2 replication relates to the expression levels of ACE2. Viral proteins and/or RNA are detected in syncytiotrophoblast, cytotrophoblasts, villous stroma, and possibly Hofbauer cells. While SARS-CoV-2 infection of placenta PCSs does not cause a detectable cytotoxicity nor a pro-inflammatory cytokine response, an upregulation of one order of magnitude of interferon type III transcripts is measured. In conclusion, our data demonstrate the capacity of SARS-CoV-2 to infect and propagate in human placenta and constitute a basis for further investigation of SARS-CoV-2 biology at the maternal-fetal interface.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; pandemic; placenta; pregnancy; vertical transmission.
. 2021 Nov 4;100456.
doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100456. Online ahead of print.
SARS-CoV-2 can infect and propagate in human placenta explants
Amal Fahmi[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Melanie Brügger[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Thomas Démoulins[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Beatrice Zumkehr[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Blandina I Oliveira Esteves[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Lisamaria Bracher[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Carlos Wotzkow[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Fabian Blank[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Volker Thiel[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], David Baud[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Marco P Alves[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34751258
- PMCID: PMC8566476
- DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100456
Abstract
The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to lead to high morbidity and mortality. During pregnancy, severe maternal and neonatal outcomes and placental pathological changes have been described. We evaluate SARS-CoV-2 infection at the maternal-fetal interface using precision-cut slices (PCSs) of human placenta. Remarkably, exposure of placenta PCSs to SARS-CoV-2 leads to a full replication cycle with infectious virus release. Moreover, the susceptibility of placental tissue to SARS-CoV-2 replication relates to the expression levels of ACE2. Viral proteins and/or RNA are detected in syncytiotrophoblast, cytotrophoblasts, villous stroma, and possibly Hofbauer cells. While SARS-CoV-2 infection of placenta PCSs does not cause a detectable cytotoxicity nor a pro-inflammatory cytokine response, an upregulation of one order of magnitude of interferon type III transcripts is measured. In conclusion, our data demonstrate the capacity of SARS-CoV-2 to infect and propagate in human placenta and constitute a basis for further investigation of SARS-CoV-2 biology at the maternal-fetal interface.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; pandemic; placenta; pregnancy; vertical transmission.