Effects of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection on placental development during pregnancy are unclear. In this study, full-term placentas from three women, each infected with ZIKV during specific pregnancy trimesters, were harvested for anatomic, immunologic and transcriptomic analysis. Each woman exhibited a unique immune response with raised IL-1RA, IP-10, EGF and RANTES expression, and neutrophil numbers during the acute infection phase. Although ZIKV NS3 antigens co-localized to placental Hofbauer cells, the placentas showed no anatomical defects. Transcriptomic analysis of samples from the placentas revealed that infection during trimester 1 caused a disparate cellular response centered on differential eIF2 signalling, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative phosphorylation. Despite these, the babies were delivered without any congenital anomalies. Nevertheless, these findings should translate to improve clinical prenatal screening procedures for virus-infected pregnant patients. SOURCE: Vipin Narang (Vipin_Narang@immunol.a-star.edu.sg) -  Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN)

Pluto Bioinformatics

GSE139181: Transcriptomics analysis of trimester-specific full-term placentas from three Zika virus-infected women