Neonatal immune cells have heightened responses following in-utero exposure to chorioamnionitis or COVID-19 ... - Nature.com

Abstract

Background

Chorioamnionitis alters neonatal immune responses. Gestational COVID-19 infection is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, but its impact on neonatal immunity is unclear. We hypothesized that gestational COVID-19 exposure would result in exaggerated neonatal immune responses, similar to chorioamnionitis-exposed neonates.

Methods

Term umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (CBMCs) were isolated from neonates exposed to chorioamnionitis, gestational COVID-19 or unexposed controls. CBMCs were cultured and stimulated with heat-killed Escherichia coli, Streptococcus agalactiae or Staphylococcus epidermidis. A multiplexed protein assay was used to measure cytokine levels in cell culture supernatants and flow cytometry was used to evaluate cellular-level cytokine expression.

Results

Both chorioamnionitis-exposed and COVID-19 exposed CBMCs demonstrated upregulation of IL-1β and IL-6 compared to unexposed CBMCs, while only COVID-19 exposure resulted in IL-8 upregulation. There were no differences between chorioamnionitis-exposed and COVID-19 exposed CBMCs when these groups were directly compared. Flow cytometry demonstrated immune cell subset specific differences in cytokine expression between the exposure groups.

Conclusion

The fetal/neonatal response to maternal inflammation differed based on immune cell subset and etiology of inflammation, but the global neonatal cytokine responses were similar between exposure groups. This suggests that targeting perinatal inflammation rather than the specific etiology may be a possible therapeutic approach.

Impact

  • Neonatal immune cells have similar pathogen-associated global cytokine responses, but different cell-level immune responses, following in-utero exposure to chorioamnionitis or COVID-19.

  • This is the first study to directly compare immune responses between neonates exposed to chorioamnionitis and COVID-19.

  • This suggests that the fetal/neonatal cellular response to perinatal inflammation differs based on the etiology and severity of maternal inflammation, but still results in a similar overall inflammatory profile regardless of the cause of perinatal inflammation.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Chorioamnionitis-exposed CBCMs have elevated IL-1β and IL-6 levels after heat-killed bacterial stimulation compared to unexposed CBMCs.
Fig. 2: COVID-19 exposed CBMCs demonstrate elevated IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 levels after heat-killed bacterial stimulation compared to unexposed CBMCs.
Fig. 3: There are no differences in cytokine profiles between chorioamnionitis and COVID-19 exposed CBMCs.

Similar content being viewed by others

Chorioamnionitis-exposure alters serum cytokine trends in premature neonates

Gretchen E. Stepanovich, Cole A. Chapman, … Jennifer R. Bermick

A perfect storm: fetal inflammation and the developing immune system

Dajana Sabic & Joyce M Koenig

Chorioamnionitis and neonatal outcomes

Viral G. Jain, Kent A. Willis, … Namasivayam Ambalavanan

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

References

  1. Endlow, A. G., Li, J., Collier, A. Y., Atyeo, C. & Alter, G. Assessment of maternal and neonatal Sars-Cov-2 viral load, transplacental antibody transfer, and placental pathology in pregnancies during the Covid-19 pandemic. JAMA Netw. Open 3, e2030455 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Liu, P. et al. The immunologic status of newborns born to Sars Cov2-infected mothers in Wuhan, China. J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 146, 101–109 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Matute, J., Finander, B., Pepin, D., Ai, X. & Kalish, B. Single-cell immunophenotyping of the fetal immune response to maternal Sars-Cov-2 infection in late gestation. Pediatr. Res. 91, 1090–1090 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Neelam, V. et al. Pregnancy and infant outcomes by trimester of Sars-Cov-2 infection in pregnancy - Set-Net, 22 jurisdictions, January 25, 2020-December 31, 2020. Birth Defects Res. 115, 145–159 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Cosma, S. et al. Obstetric and neonatal outcomes after Sars-Cov-2 infection in the first trimester of pregnancy: a prosective comparative study. J. Obstet. Gynaecol. Res. 48, 393–401 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Foo, S. et al. 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. 16, 100453 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Zambrano, L. D. et al. Centers for disease control and prevention: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (Mmwr). Weekly 69, 1641–1647 (2020).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Shanes, E. D. et al. Placental pathology in Covid-19. Am. J. Clin. Pathol. 154, 23–32 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Patberg, E. T. et al. Coronovirus disease 2019 infection and placental historpathology in women delivering at term. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 224, 382.e381–382e388 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Romero, R., Chaemsaithong, P., Docheva, N., Korzeniewski, S. J. & Kim, Y. M. Clinical chorioamnionitis at term V: umbilical cord plasma cytokine profile in the context of a systemic maternal inflammatory response. J. Perinat. Med. 44, 53–76 (2016).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Committee Opinion No. 712. Intrapartum management of intraamniotic infection. Obstet. Gynecol. 130, e95–e101 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Rouse, D. J. et al. The maternal-fetal medicine units cesarean registry: chorioamnionitis at term and its duration–relationship to outcomes. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 191, 211–216 (2004).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Sameshima, H., Ikenoue, T., Ikeda, T., Kamitomo, M. & Ibara, S. Association of nonreassuring fetal heart rate patterns and subsequent cerebral palsy in pregnancies with intrauterine bacterial infection. Am. J. Perinatol. 22, 181–187 (2005).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Malloy, M. H. Chorioamnionitis: epidemiology of newborn management and outcome United States 2008. J. Perinatol. 34, 611–615 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Limperopoulos, C. et al. Positive screening for Autism in Ex preterm infants: prevalence and risk factors. Pediatrics 121, 758–765 (2008).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Bonnin, A. & Levitt, P. Fetal, maternal, and placental sources of serotonin and new implications for developmental programming of the brain. Neuroscience 187, 1–7 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Goeden, N. et al. Maternal inflammation disrupts fetal neurodevelopment via increased placental output of serotonin to the fetal brain. J. Neurosci. 36, 6041–6049 (2016).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Reuschel, E., Toelge, M., Entleutner, K., Deml, L. & Seelbach-Goebel, B. Cytokine profiles of umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells upon in vitro stimulation with lipopolysaccharides of different vaginal gram-negative bacteria. PLoS One 14, e0222465 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Bermick, J. et al. Chorioamnionitis exposure remodels the unique histone modification landscape of neonatal monocytes and alters the expression of immune pathway genes. FEBS J. 286, 82–109 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Stepanovich, G. et al. Chorioamnionitis-exposure alters serum cytokine trends in premature neonates. J. Perinatol. 43, 758–765 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Bergin, S. P., Thaden, J. T. & Ericson, J. E. Neonatal Escherichia Coli bloodstream infections: clinical outcomes and impact of initial antibiotics therapy. Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. 34, 933–936 (2015).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Escobar, G. J. et al. Neonatal sepsis workups in infants >/=2000 grams at birth: a population-based study. Pediatrics 106, 256–263 (2000).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Nanduri, S. A. et al. Epidemiology of invasive early-onset and late-onset Group B streptococcal disease in the United States, 2006 to 2015: multistate laboratory and population-based surveillance. JAMA Pediatr. 173, 224–233 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Chun-Chih, P., Jui-Hsing, C., Hsiang-Yu, L., Cheng, P. & Su, B. H. Intrauterine inflammation, infection or both (Triple I): a new concept for chorioamnionitis. Pediatr. Neonatol. 59, 231–237 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Berner, R., Csorba, J. & Brandis, M. Different cytokine expression in cord blood mononuclear cells after stimulation with neonatal sepsis or colonizing strains of Streptococcus Agalactiae. Pediatr. Res 49, 691–697 (2001).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. de Jong, E., Hancock, D. G., Wells, C. & Currie, A. J. Exposure to chorioamnionitis alters the monocyte transcriptional response to the neonatal pathogen Staphylocccus Epidermidis. Immunol. Cell Biol. 96, 792–804 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Bermick, J., Watson, S., Lueschow, S. & McElroy, S. The fetal response to maternal inflammation is dependent upon maternal Il-6 in a Murine Model. Cytokine 167, e156210 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Ewald, J. T. et al. Inflammatory biomarker profiles in very preterm infants with the context of preeclampsia, chorioamnionitis, and clinically diagnosed postnatal infection. Pediatr. Rep. 15, 483–493 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Aghai, Z. H. et al. Ifn-G and Ip-10 in tracheal aspirates from premature infants: relationship with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia. Pediatr. Pulmonol. 48, 8–13 (2013).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Rao, S. P. et al. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells exhibit heterogeneous Cd52 expression levels and show differential sensitivity to Alemtuzumab mediated cytolysis. PLoS One 7, e39416 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  31. Talla, A. et al. Persistent serum protein signatures define an inflammatory subcategory of long covid. Nat. Commun. 14, 3417 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  32. Woodruff, M. C. et al. Chronic inflammation, neutrophil activity, and autoreactivity splits long covid. Nat. Commun. 14, 4201 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  33. Martin-Gonzalez, N. S. et al. Maternal respiratory viral infections during pregnancy and offspring's neurodevelopmental outcomes: a systematic review. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 149, e105178 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Jung, E., Romero, R., Yeo, L., Chaur-Dong, H. & Para, R. The fetal inflammatory response syndrome: the origins of a concept, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and obstetrical implications. Semin. Fetal Neonatal Med. 25, e101146 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Jackson, C. M. et al. Pro-inflammatory immune responses in leukocytes of premature infants exposed to maternal chorioamnionitis or funisitis. Pediatr. Res. 81, 384–390 (2017).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Kamdar, S. et al. Perinatal inflammation influences but does not arrest rapid immune development in preterm babies. Nat. Commun. 11, 1284 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  37. Garcia-Flores, V. et al. Maternal-fetal immune responses in pregnant women infected with Sars-Cov-2. Nat. Commun. 13, 320 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Gee, S. et al. The legacy of maternal Sars-Cov-2 infection on the immunology of the neonate. Nat. Immunol. 22, 1490–1502 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Bermick, J. & Schaller, M. Chorioamnionitis exposure dampens the preterm monocyte response to subsequent challenges. Immunol. Cell Biol. 96, 789–791 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Villamor-Martinez, E., Alvarez-Fuente, M., Ghazi, A. M., Degraeuwe, P. & Villamor, E. Association of chorioamnionitis with bronchopulmonary dysplasia among preterm infants: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and metaregression. JAMA Netw. Open 2, e1914611 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  41. Getahun, D., Strickland, D., Zeiger, R. S., Fassett, M. & Jacobsen, S. J. Effect of chorioamnionitis on early childhood asthma. Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 164, 187–192 (2010).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Smith, E. R. et al. Adverse maternal, fetal, and newborn outcomes among pregnant women with Sars-Cov-2 infection: an individual participant data meta-analysis. BMJ Glob. Health 8, e009495 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog