Collateral Damage in the Placenta during Viral Infection in Pregnancy: A Possible Mechanism for Vertical Transmission and an Adverse Pregnancy Outcome
Victor Javier Cruz-Holguín,
Luis Didier González-García,
Manuel Adrián Velázquez-Cervantes,
Haruki Arévalo-Romero,
Luis Adrián De Jesús-González,
Addy Cecilia Helguera-Repetto,
Guadalupe León-Reyes,
Ma. Isabel Salazar,
Leticia Cedillo-Barrón,
Moisés León-Juárez
Affiliations
Victor Javier Cruz-Holguín
Laboratorio de Virologia Perinatal y Diseño Molecular de Antigenos y Biomarcadores, Departamento de Inmunobioquimica, Instituto Nacional de Perinatología, Mexico City 11000, Mexico
Luis Didier González-García
Laboratorio de Virologia Perinatal y Diseño Molecular de Antigenos y Biomarcadores, Departamento de Inmunobioquimica, Instituto Nacional de Perinatología, Mexico City 11000, Mexico
Manuel Adrián Velázquez-Cervantes
Laboratorio de Virologia Perinatal y Diseño Molecular de Antigenos y Biomarcadores, Departamento de Inmunobioquimica, Instituto Nacional de Perinatología, Mexico City 11000, Mexico
Haruki Arévalo-Romero
Laboratorio de Inmunologia y Microbiologia Molecular, Division Academica Multidisciplinaria de Jalpa de Méndez, Jalpa de Mendez 86205, Mexico
Luis Adrián De Jesús-González
Unidad de Investigación Biomédica de Zacatecas, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Zacatecas 98000, Mexico
Addy Cecilia Helguera-Repetto
Departamento de Inmunobioquimica, Instituto Nacional de Perinatología, Mexico City 11000, Mexico
Guadalupe León-Reyes
Laboratorio de Nutrigenética y Nutrigenómica, Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica (INMEGEN), Mexico City 14610, Mexico
Ma. Isabel Salazar
Posgrado de Inmunología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biologócas (ENCB), Instituto Politecnico Naciona, Mexico City 11350, Mexico
Leticia Cedillo-Barrón
Departamento de Biomedicina Molecular, Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados del IPN (CINVESTAV), Mexico City 07360, Mexico
Moisés León-Juárez
Laboratorio de Virologia Perinatal y Diseño Molecular de Antigenos y Biomarcadores, Departamento de Inmunobioquimica, Instituto Nacional de Perinatología, Mexico City 11000, Mexico
In mammals, the placenta is a connection between a mother and a new developing organism. This tissue has a protective function against some microorganisms, transports nutrients, and exchanges gases and excretory substances between the mother and the fetus. Placental tissue is mainly composed of chorionic villi functional units called trophoblasts (cytotrophoblasts, the syncytiotrophoblast, and extravillous trophoblasts). However, some viruses have developed mechanisms that help them invade the placenta, causing various conditions such as necrosis, poor perfusion, and membrane rupture which, in turn, can impact the development of the fetus and put the mother’s health at risk. In this study, we collected the most relevant information about viral infection during pregnancy which can affect both the mother and the fetus, leading to an increase in the probability of vertical transmission. Knowing these mechanisms could be relevant for new research in the maternal–fetal context and may provide options for new therapeutic targets and biomarkers in fetal prognosis.