2023
Questioning the fetal microbiome illustrates pitfalls of low-biomass microbial studies
Kennedy K, de Goffau M, Perez-Muñoz M, Arrieta M, Bäckhed F, Bork P, Braun T, Bushman F, Dore J, de Vos W, Earl A, Eisen J, Elovitz M, Ganal-Vonarburg S, Gänzle M, Garrett W, Hall L, Hornef M, Huttenhower C, Konnikova L, Lebeer S, Macpherson A, Massey R, McHardy A, Koren O, Lawley T, Ley R, O’Mahony L, O’Toole P, Pamer E, Parkhill J, Raes J, Rattei T, Salonen A, Segal E, Segata N, Shanahan F, Sloboda D, Smith G, Sokol H, Spector T, Surette M, Tannock G, Walker A, Yassour M, Walter J. Questioning the fetal microbiome illustrates pitfalls of low-biomass microbial studies. Nature 2023, 613: 639-649. PMID: 36697862, PMCID: PMC11333990, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05546-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsMicrobial populationsHuman immune developmentMicrobial ecologyReproductive biologyMicrobial communitiesLow biomass environmentsMicrobial signalsMicrobial studiesDNA sequencingMicrobiome studiesDNA extractionMicrobial analysisClinical microbiologyMechanistic conceptsCautionary exampleImmune developmentRecent studiesHuman fetusesFetal tissuesMammalsGnotobiologyEcologyMicrobiologyFetal microbiomeBiology
2022
Renalase and its receptor, PMCA4b, are expressed in the placenta throughout the human gestation
Wang M, Silva T, Toothaker JM, McCourt BT, Shugrue C, Desir G, Gorelick F, Konnikova L. Renalase and its receptor, PMCA4b, are expressed in the placenta throughout the human gestation. Scientific Reports 2022, 12: 4953. PMID: 35322081, PMCID: PMC8943056, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08817-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPlacental tissuePlacental villiHofbauer cellsPlacental developmentEndogenous productionAnti-inflammatory milieuPotential roleHuman placental tissueFull-term placentaPlacental factorsFetal interfaceDecidual samplesPlacental functionChorionic plateImmunoreactive cellsPlacental samplesHuman gestationRenalaseBulk RNA sequencingHuman placentaPlacentaQuantification of immunohistochemistryProtein levelsTrophoblastTransmission of nutrientsImmune landscape of human placental villi using single-cell analysis
Toothaker JM, Olaloye O, McCourt BT, McCourt CC, Silva TN, Case RM, Liu P, Yimlamai D, Tseng G, Konnikova L. Immune landscape of human placental villi using single-cell analysis. Development 2022, 149 PMID: 35050308, PMCID: PMC8935213, DOI: 10.1242/dev.200013.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsAntigens, CDAntigens, Differentiation, MyelomonocyticB7-H1 AntigenB-LymphocytesChorionic VilliFemaleFetusFlow CytometryHLA-DR AntigensHumansKiller Cells, NaturalLeukocyte Common AntigensLymphocyte ActivationMacrophagesMemory T CellsPlacentaPregnancyPregnancy Trimester, SecondReceptors, Cell SurfaceReceptors, ChemokineSingle-Cell AnalysisT-LymphocytesConceptsT cellsHuman placental villiPlacental villiImmune systemFetal immune systemMaternal immune systemFetal immune cellsAdult T-cellT cell receptor stimulationCell receptor stimulationHealthy pregnancyImmune landscapeMemory phenotypeImmune cellsFetal organsEnhanced proliferative capacityReceptor stimulationMultiple subtypesPV tissueComplex immune systemImaging modalitiesMass cytometryProliferative capacityMaternal mechanismsRecent reports
2021
Maternal respiratory SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy is associated with a robust inflammatory response at the maternal-fetal interface
Lu-Culligan A, Chavan AR, Vijayakumar P, Irshaid L, Courchaine EM, Milano KM, Tang Z, Pope SD, Song E, Vogels CBF, Lu-Culligan WJ, Campbell KH, Casanovas-Massana A, Bermejo S, Toothaker JM, Lee HJ, Liu F, Schulz W, Fournier J, Muenker MC, Moore AJ, Team Y, Konnikova L, Neugebauer KM, Ring A, Grubaugh ND, Ko AI, Morotti R, Guller S, Kliman HJ, Iwasaki A, Farhadian SF. Maternal respiratory SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy is associated with a robust inflammatory response at the maternal-fetal interface. Med 2021, 2: 591-610.e10. PMID: 33969332, PMCID: PMC8084634, DOI: 10.1016/j.medj.2021.04.016.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSARS-CoV-2 infectionMaternal-fetal interfaceACE2 expressionNatural killerPregnant womenPlacental cellsAcute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infectionSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infectionSARS-CoV-2-infected womenTerm placentaSyndrome coronavirus 2 infectionCoronavirus 2 infectionPotential immune mechanismsRobust inflammatory responseRobust immune responseCoronavirus disease 2019Detectable viral RNAInterferon-related genesLower ACE2 expressionMajority of placentasPregnancy complicationsPlacental histologyHofbauer cellsEarly pregnancyImmune activation