While pregnancy increases the risk for severe COVID-19, the clinical and immunological implications of COVID-19 on maternal-fetal health remain unknown. Here, we present the clinical and immunological landscapes of 93 COVID-19 mothers and 45 of their SARS-CoV-2-exposed infants through comprehensive serum proteomics profiling for >1,400 cytokines of their peripheral and cord blood specimens. Prenatal SARS-CoV-2 infection triggers NF-κB-dependent proinflammatory immune activation. Pregnant women with severe COVID-19 show increased inflammation and unique IFN-λ antiviral signaling, with elevated levels of IFNL1 and IFNLR1. Furthermore, SARS-CoV-2 infection re-shapes maternal immunity at delivery, altering the expression of pregnancy complication-associated cytokines, inducing MMP7, MDK, and ESM1 and reducing BGN and CD209. Finally, COVID-19-exposed infants exhibit induction of T cell-associated cytokines (IL33, NFATC3, and CCL21), while some undergo IL-1β/IL-18/CASP1 axis-driven neonatal respiratory distress despite birth at term. Our findings demonstrate COVID-19-induced immune rewiring in both mothers and neonates, warranting long-term clinical follow-up to mitigate potential health risks.
The systemic inflammatory landscape of COVID-19 in pregnancy: Extensive serum proteomic profiling of mother-infant dyads with in utero SARS-CoV-2
Nov 16, 2021|Cell Reports Medicine

Having trouble accessing the material? Try here.
Related Content

SARS-CoV-2 uses CD4 to infect T helper lymphocytes
ABSTRACT The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the agent of a majo...

Differential decline of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody levels, innate and adaptive immune cells, and shift of Th1/inflammatory to Th2 serum cytokine levels long after first COVID-19
ABSTRACT Background SARS-CoV-2 has triggered a pandemic and contributes to long-lasting morbidi...

Effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on perinatal outcomes by disease severity and trimester of pregnancy: a prospective cohort study
ABSTRACT Introduction To describe the effects of maternal COVID-19 on the incidence of small fo...

SARS-CoV-2 Selectively Induces the Expression of Unproductive Splicing Isoforms of Interferon, Class I MHC, and Splicing Machinery Genes
ABSTRACT RNA processing is a highly conserved mechanism that serves as a pivotal regulator of ge...

Evasion of NKG2D-mediated cytotoxic immunity by sarbecoviruses
SARS-CoV-2 and other sarbecoviruses continue to threaten humanity, highlighting the need to chara...