The systemic inflammatory landscape of COVID-19 in pregnancy: Extensive serum proteomic profiling of mother-infant dyads with in utero SARS-CoV-2
Cell Reports Medicine · 2021
Profiling more than 1,400 blood proteins showed that COVID-19 in pregnancy rewires the immune system of both mother and newborn.
Research question
What does the systemic inflammatory landscape look like in pregnant women with COVID-19 and their exposed infants?
Clinical & scientific significance
COVID-19-induced immune rewiring in mothers and neonates warrants long-term clinical follow-up.
Key findings reported in the paper
- Prenatal infection triggered NF-κB-dependent pro-inflammatory activation.
- Severe maternal COVID-19 showed increased inflammation and IFN-λ antiviral signaling (elevated IFNL1 and IFNLR1).
- Exposed infants showed induction of T-cell-associated cytokines (IL33, NFATC3, CCL21); some had IL-1β/IL-18/CASP1-driven respiratory distress despite term birth.
- cytokines profiled
- >1,400
- mothers + exposed infants
- 93 + 45
Objectives
To characterize clinical and immunological profiles of mother-infant dyads with in utero SARS-CoV-2 exposure.
Methods
Serum proteomics of > 1,400 cytokines in peripheral and cord blood from 93 mothers with COVID-19 and 45 of their exposed infants.
This summary is based only on the published abstract.
Reading the immune response in blood
01
Blood samples
Maternal serum, cord blood and newborn serum.
02
Proteomic profiling
Hundreds to more than 1,400 proteins and cytokines measured at once.
03
Comparison
Exposed versus unexposed, or infants with versus without an outcome.
04
Pathway signatures
For example NF-κB inflammation, IFN-λ signaling, IL-1β/IL-18, apoptosis.
05
Candidate biomarkers
Markers that may flag infants who need closer follow-up.
Read the publication
Authors
Foo SS, Cambou MC, Mok T, Fajardo VM, Jung KL, Fuller T, Chen W, Kerin T, Mei J, Bhattacharya D, Choi Y, Wu X, Xia T, Shin WJ, Cranston J, Aldrovandi G, Tobin N, Contreras D, Ibarrondo FJ, Yang O, Yang S, Garner O, Cortado R, Bryson Y, Janzen C, Ghosh S, Devaskar S, Asilnejad B, Moreira ME, Vasconcelos Z, Soni PR, Gibson LC, Brasil P, Comhair SAA, Arumugaswami V, Erzurum SC, Rao R, Jung JU, Nielsen-Saines K
Citation
The systemic inflammatory landscape of COVID-19 in pregnancy: Extensive serum proteomic profiling of mother-infant dyads with in utero SARS-CoV-2. Cell Rep Med. 2021; 2(11):100453. doi:10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100453. PMID: 34723226.
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