Viral infection of the ovaries compromises pregnancy and reveals innate immune mechanisms protecting fertility.
Immunity
; 54(7): 1478-1493.e6, 2021 07 13.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34015257
ABSTRACT
Viral infections during pregnancy are a considerable cause of adverse outcomes and birth defects, and the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Among those, cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection stands out as the most common intrauterine infection in humans, putatively causing early pregnancy loss. We employed murine CMV as a model to study the consequences of viral infection on pregnancy outcome and fertility maintenance. Even though pregnant mice successfully controlled CMV infection, we observed highly selective, strong infection of corpus luteum (CL) cells in their ovaries. High infection densities indicated complete failure of immune control in CL cells, resulting in progesterone insufficiency and pregnancy loss. An abundance of gap junctions, absence of vasculature, strong type I interferon (IFN) responses, and interaction of innate immune cells fully protected the ovarian follicles from viral infection. Our work provides fundamental insights into the effect of CMV infection on pregnancy loss and mechanisms protecting fertility.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Infecciones por Citomegalovirus
/
Cuerpo Lúteo
/
Fertilidad
/
Inmunidad Innata
Límite:
Animals
/
Pregnancy
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Immunity
Asunto de la revista:
ALERGIA E IMUNOLOGIA
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Croacia