The Auditory Pathway in Congenitally Cytomegalovirus-Infected Human Fetuses.
Int J Mol Sci
; 25(5)2024 Feb 24.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38473883
ABSTRACT
Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the main cause of non-hereditary sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). In order to shed light on SNHL pathophysiology, we examined the auditory pathway in CMV-infected fetuses; the temporal lobe, in particular the auditory cortex, and the inner ear. We investigated both inner ears and temporal lobes of 20 human CMV-infected fetuses at 21 weeks of gestation. As a negative group, five fetuses from spontaneous miscarriages without CMV infection were studied. Inner ears and temporal lobes were histologically examined, immunohistochemistry for CMV and CMV-PCR were performed. On the auditory cortex, we evaluated the local microglial reaction to the infection. CMV-positive cells were found in 14/20 brains and the damage was classified as severe, moderate, or mild, according to histological features. Fetuses with severe brain damage had a statistically higher temporal lobe viral load and a higher number of activated microglial cells in the auditory cortex compared to fetuses with mild brain damage (p 0.01; p 0.01). In the inner ears, the marginal cells of the stria vascularis were the most CMV positive. In our study, CMV affected the auditory pathway, suggesting a tropism for this route. In addition, in the auditory cortex, microglial activation may favor further tissue damage contributing to hearing loss.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Infecciones por Citomegalovirus
/
Pérdida Auditiva Sensorineural
Límite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Int J Mol Sci
/
Int. j. mol. sci. (Online)
/
International journal of molecular sciences (Online)
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Italia
Pais de publicación:
Suiza