01/18/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/18/2022 10:07
News Release
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
Small NIH study contributes to understanding of COVID-19 during pregnancy.
SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy may cause inflammatory immune responses in the fetus, even if the virus does not infect the placenta, according to a small National Institutes of Health study. Researchers describe unique maternal, fetal, and placental immune responses among pregnant women with COVID-19 in a study led by NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The findings detail changes in antibodies, immune cell types and inflammatory markers in maternal blood, umbilical cord blood and placental tissues. The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.
People who are pregnant are at a higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19, compared to people who are not pregnant. COVID-19 during pregnancy also increases the risk for preterm birth, stillbirth and preeclampsia. Therefore, understanding COVID-19 infection during pregnancy is important to help healthcare providers optimize the health and safety of their patients during the pandemic.
The study evaluated 23 pregnant women. Twelve were positive for SARS-CoV-2, and of these, eight were asymptomatic, one had mild symptoms and three had severe COVID-19. After delivery, the researchers compared immune responses between mothers and their newborns by comparing maternal blood and umbilical cord blood. Inflammatory immune responses triggered by the virus were observed in women, their neonates and placental tissues regardless of whether the mothers had symptoms. The study team described the following observations:
Overall, the findings will help researchers better understand COVID-19 during pregnancy. The authors note that the key observation is that maternal infection with SARS-CoV-2 induces a fetal immune response even in the absence of placental infection or symptoms in the newborn. Therefore, the potential long-term effects of this inflammatory process on infants requires further study.
Study authors Nardhy Gomez-Lopez, M.Sc., Ph.D., and Roberto Romero, M.D., D.Med.Sci, of the NICHD Perinatology Research Branch are available for interviews.
Garcia-Flores V et al., Maternal-fetal immune responses in pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2. Nature Communications DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27745-z (2022)
About the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): NICHD leads research and training to understand human development, improve reproductive health, enhance the lives of children and adolescents, and optimize abilities for all. For more information, visit https://www.nichd.nih.gov.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit https://www.nih.gov.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
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