Pan-viral metagenomic sequencing demonstrates that cryptic viral infection is rarely observed in villitis of unknown etiology.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Aberrant maternal immune responses are implicated in villitis of unknown etiology (VUE), but the underlying cause of this loss of tolerance, including cryptic causative or precipitating infections, has been difficult to define. Herein, we performed pan-viral metagenomic sequencing of placentas with VUE to investigate the possibility of cryptic viral infection as a contributing factor in this inflammatory pathology.

Methods

Placentas evaluated at a single tertiary medical center between 2010 and 2024 were included in this study. Overall, the cohort included infectious villitis due to cytomegalovirus (CMV; n = 4), VUE (n = 25), and a reference group composed of pathologically unremarkable placentas (n = 17). Total nucleic acid was extracted from formalin-fixed par

SUBMITTER: Norgan AP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12628840 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature