SARS-CoV-2 colonization of maternal and fetal cells of the human placenta promotes alteration of local renin-angiotensin system.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection appears to increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as pre-eclampsia in pregnant women. The mechanism(s) by which this occurs remains unclear.

Methods

We investigated the pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2 at maternal-fetal interface in pregnant women who tested positive for the virus using RNA in situ hybridization (viral RNA), immunohistochemistry, and hematoxylin and eosin staining. To investigate whether viral infection alters the renin angiotensin system (RAS) in placenta, which controls blood pressure, we treated human trophoblasts with recombinant spike protein or a live modified virus with a vesicular stomatitis viral backbone expressing spike protein (VSV-S).

Findings

SUBMITTER: Verma S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8043616 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature