Moderately pathogenic maternal influenza A virus infection disrupts placental integrity but spares the fetal brain.

ABSTRACT: Maternal infection during pregnancy is a known risk factor for offspring mental health disorders. Animal models of maternal immune activation (MIA) have implicated specific cellular and molecular etiologies of psychiatric illness, but most rely on pathogen mimetics. Here, we developed a mouse model of live H3N2 influenza A virus (IAV) infection during pregnancy that induces a robust inflammatory response but is sublethal to both dams and offspring. We observed classic indicators of lung inflammation and severely diminished weight gain in IAV-infected dams. This was accompanied by immune cell infiltration in the placenta and partial breakdown of placental integrity. However, indications of fetal neuroinflammation were absent. Further hallmarks of mimetic-induced MIA, including enhanced circ

SUBMITTER: Antonson AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8319055 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature