bims-reprim Biomed News
on Reproductive immunology
Issue of 2021–03–28
eight papers selected by
Iva Filipovic, Karolinska Institutet
  1. The enrichment of neutrophil extracellular traps impair the placentas of systemic lupus erythematosus through accumulating decidual NK cells.
  2. Embryo biosensing by uterine natural killer cells determines endometrial fate decisions at implantation.
  3. Characterization of highly proliferative decidual precursor cells during the window of implantation in human endometrium.
  4. Imbalance of uterine innate lymphoid cells is involved in the abnormal pregnancy induced by Toxoplasma gondii infection.
  5. Single-cell immunophenotyping of the fetal immune response to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection in late gestation.
  6. Fetal and placental infection with SARS-CoV-2 in early pregnancy.
  7. Role of the HLA-G immune checkpoint molecule in pregnancy.
  8. COVID-19 vaccine response in pregnant and lactating women: a cohort study.
  1. Sci Rep. 2021 Mar 25. 11(1): 6870
    The enrichment of neutrophil extracellular traps impair the placentas of systemic lupus erythematosus through accumulating decidual NK cells.
    Meng Jiang, Nan Shen, Haibo Zhou, You Wang, Sihan Lin, Jiayue Wu, Wen Di.
      Despite the advances made in the management of pregnancies in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the rate of adverse pregnancy outcomes is still higher than that in the general population. In the last few years, neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) were proven to be detrimental in both autoimmune diseases and placental injury. We investigated whether NETs could be detected in the placentas of pregnant individuals with SLE and explored the relationship between NETs and decidual natural killer cells (dNKs), which comprise the majority of immune cells at the maternal-fetal interface, using clinical samples and animal models. In this study, we found that the infiltration of NETs and dNKs, especially CD56+CD16+ NK cells, was significantly increased in pregnant individuals with SLE with placental insufficiency. In the murine models of SLE, the number of dNKs was significantly decreased due to the decreased formation of NETs affected by Ly6G. Moreover, the histopathological placental injury was reduced, with a remarkable increase in fetal birth weight. This study shows that NETs may contribute to immunological disorder in the placenta and the pathological changes in pregnancies with SLE, which provides a research basis for further explorations of the mechanism of SLE in placental impairment.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86390-0
  2. FASEB J. 2021 Apr;35(4): e21336
    Embryo biosensing by uterine natural killer cells determines endometrial fate decisions at implantation.
    Chow-Seng Kong, Alexandra Almansa Ordoñez, Sarah Turner, Tina Tremaine, Joanne Muter, Emma S Lucas, Emma Salisbury, Rita Vassena, Gustavo Tiscornia, Ali A Fouladi-Nashta, Geraldine Hartshorne, Jan J Brosens, Paul J Brighton.
      Decidualizing endometrial stromal cells (EnSC) critically determine the maternal response to an implanting conceptus, triggering either menstruation-like disposal of low-fitness embryos or creating an environment that promotes further development. However, the mechanism that couples maternal recognition of low-quality embryos to tissue breakdown remains poorly understood. Recently, we demonstrated that successful transition of the cycling endometrium to a pregnancy state requires selective elimination of pro-inflammatory senescent decidual cells by activated uterine natural killer (uNK) cells. Here we report that uNK cells express CD44, the canonical hyaluronan (HA) receptor, and demonstrate that high molecular weight HA (HMWHA) inhibits uNK cell-mediated killing of senescent decidual cells. In contrast, low molecular weight HA (LMWHA) did not attenuate uNK cell activity in co-culture experiments. Killing of senescent decidual cells by uNK cells was also inhibited upon exposure to medium conditioned by IVF embryos that failed to implant, but not successful embryos. Embryo-mediated inhibition of uNK cell activity was reversed by recombinant hyaluronidase 2 (HYAL2), which hydrolyses HMWHA. We further report a correlation between the levels of HYAL2 secretion by human blastocysts, morphological scores, and implantation potential. Taken together, the data suggest a pivotal role for uNK cells in embryo biosensing and endometrial fate decisions at implantation.
    Keywords:  decidualization; embryo implantation; endometrium; hyaluronan; senescence; uterine natural killer cells
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.202002217R
  3. Stem Cells. 2021 Mar 25.
    Characterization of highly proliferative decidual precursor cells during the window of implantation in human endometrium.
    Maria Diniz-da-Costa, Chow-Seng Kong, Katherine J Fishwick, Thomas Rawlings, Paul J Brighton, Amelia Hawkes, Joshua Odendaal, Siobhan Quenby, Sascha Ott, Emma S Lucas, Pavle Vrljicak, Jan J Brosens.
      Pregnancy depends on the wholesale transformation of the endometrium, a process driven by differentiation of endometrial stromal cells (EnSC) into specialist decidual cells. Upon embryo implantation, decidual cells impart the tissue plasticity needed to accommodate a rapidly growing conceptus and invading placenta, although the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here we characterize a discrete population of highly proliferative mesenchymal cells (hPMC) in midluteal human endometrium, coinciding with the window of embryo implantation. Single-cell transcriptomics demonstrated that hPMC express genes involved in chemotaxis and vascular transmigration. Although distinct from resident EnSC, hPMC also express genes encoding pivotal decidual transcription factors and markers, most prominently prolactin. We further show that hPMC are enriched around spiral arterioles, scattered throughout the stroma, and occasionally present in glandular and luminal epithelium. The abundance of hPMC correlated with the in vitro colony-forming unit activity of midluteal endometrium and, conversely, clonogenic cells in culture express a gene signature partially conserved in hPMC. Cross-referencing of single-cell RNA-sequencing data sets indicated that hPMC differentiate into a recently discovered decidual subpopulation in early pregnancy. Finally, we demonstrate that recurrent pregnancy loss is associated with hPMC depletion. Collectively, our findings characterize midluteal hPMC as novel decidual precursors that are likely derived from circulating bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells and integral to decidual plasticity in pregnancy.
    Keywords:  bone-marrow-derived stem cells; decidualization; embryo implantation; endometrium; mesenchymal stem cells; miscarriage; pregnancy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/stem.3367
  4. J Reprod Immunol. 2021 Mar 18. pii: S0165-0378(21)00042-5. [Epub ahead of print]145 103312
    Imbalance of uterine innate lymphoid cells is involved in the abnormal pregnancy induced by Toxoplasma gondii infection.
    Siqi Liu, Qi Liu, Huiyuan Xie, Minmin Li, Fuyan Wang, Jijia Shen, Miao Liu, Cuiping Ren, Xin Hou.
      Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a ubiquitous intracellular protozoan parasite that causes adverse pregnancy outcomes. Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are critical mediators of mucosal immunity, and have been reported to play an important role in uterine vascular adaptation for successful pregnancy. However, the specific role of ILCs in T. gondii-infection-induced adverse pregnancy outcomes remains elusive. In the present study, we found that T. gondii infection caused the imbalance of uterine ILC cells (uILCs). It was characterized by substantially lower expression of the transcription factor GATA-3 and RORγt and higher expression of T-bet in uILCs. Consistent with the transcription factor changes, uILCs from T. gondii-infected mice produced much less IL-5 and IL-17 and substantially more IFN-γ and TNF-α than did uILCs from uninfected mice. Notably, IL-12, IL-18, and their receptors were increased in the uterus of T. gondii-infected mice. In vitro experiments showed that IL-12 and IL-18 treatment reduced the percentages of uILC2 and uILC3 and increased the percentages of uILC1. Conclusion, our data suggest that alterations in uILC composition may disrupt the balance of immune microenvironment after T. gondii infection and contribute to the adverse pregnancy outcomes caused by T. gondii infection.
    Keywords:  Adverse pregnant outcome; IL-12; Imbalance; Innate lymphoid cells; Toxoplasma gondii
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jri.2021.103312
  5. Res Sq. 2021 Mar 16. pii: rs.3.rs-311000. [Epub ahead of print]
    Single-cell immunophenotyping of the fetal immune response to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection in late gestation.
    Juan Matute, Benjamin Finander, David Pepin, Xinbin Ai, Neal Smith, Jonathan Li, Andrea Edlow, Alexandra Villani, Paul Lerou, Brian Kalish.
      During the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of pregnant women have been infected with SARS-CoV-2. The implications of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on fetal and childhood well-being are unknown. We aimed to characterize the fetal immune response to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing and T-cell receptor (TCR) sequencing on cord blood mononuclear cells (CBMC) from newborns of mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the third-trimester (cases) or without SARS-CoV-2 infection. We identified widespread gene expression changes in CBMC from cases, including upregulation of interferon-stimulated genes and Major Histocompatibility Complex genes in CD14 + monocytes; transcriptional changes suggestive of activation of plasmacytoid dendritic cells, and activation and exhaustion of NK cells and CD8 + T-cells. Lastly, we observed fetal TCR repertoire expansion in cases. As none of the infants were infected with SARS-CoV-2, our results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 maternal infection might modulate the fetal immune system in the absence of vertical transmission.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-311000/v1
  6. J Med Virol. 2021 Mar 25.
    Fetal and placental infection with SARS-CoV-2 in early pregnancy.
    María Yolotzin Valdespino-Vázquez, Cecilia A Helguera-Repetto, Moises León-Juárez, Oscar Villavicencio-Carrisoza, Arturo Flores-Pliego, Elsa Romelia Moreno-Verduzco, Diana L Díaz-Pérez, Isabel Villegas-Mota, Elba Carrasco-Ramírez, Irma Elena López-Martínez, David M Giraldo-Gómez, Rosalia Lira, Martha Yocupicio-Monroy, Mario Rodríguez-Bosch, Edgar E Sevilla-Reyes, Manuel Cortés-Bonilla, Sandra Acevedo-Gallegos, Horacio Merchant-Larios, Arturo Cardona-Pérez, Claudine Irles.
      To date, mother-to-fetus transmission of SARS-CoV-2, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, remains controversial. Although placental COVID-19 infection has been documented in some cases during the second- and third-trimesters, no reports are available for the first trimester of pregnancy, and no SARS-CoV-2 protein has been found in fetal tissues. We studied the placenta and fetal organs from an early pregnancy miscarriage in a COVID-19 maternal infection by immunohistochemical, RT-qPCR, immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy methods. SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein, viral RNA, and particles consistent with coronavirus were found in the placenta and fetal tissues, accompanied by RNA replication revealed by double-stranded RNA positive immunostain. Prominent damage of placenta and fetal organs were associated with a hyperinflammatory process identified by histological examination and immunohistochemistry. The findings provided in this study document that congenital SARS-CoV-2 infection is possible during the first trimester of pregnancy and that fetal organs, such as lung and kidney, are targets for coronavirus. The infection and multi-organic fetal inflammation produced by SARS-CoV-2 during early pregnancy should alert clinicians in the assessment and management of pregnant women for possible fetal consequences and adverse perinatal outcomes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
    Keywords:  COVID-19; fetus; first trimester; miscarriage; placenta; pregnancy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.26965
  7. Hum Immunol. 2021 Mar 18. pii: S0198-8859(21)00010-0. [Epub ahead of print]
    Role of the HLA-G immune checkpoint molecule in pregnancy.
    Nathalie Rouas-Freiss, Philippe Moreau, Joel LeMaoult, Bela Papp, Diana Tronik-Le Roux, Edgardo D Carosella.
      The non-classical HLA class I molecule HLA-G is expressed in trophoblasts where it contributes to maternal-fetal tolerance. HLA-G has been implicated in the control of trophoblast invasion, uterine vascular remodeling, and maintenance of a local immunosuppressive state. Understanding HLA-G biology at the maternal-fetal interface is therefore a critical issue in reproduction. In this regard, we review here: (i) the effects of HLA-G on decidual leucocytes and stromal cells, (ii) the contribution of trogocytosis in HLA-G expression on decidual cells, (iii) its interaction with the ILT2, ILT4 and KIR2DL4 receptors, (iv) the link between HLA-G polymorphism and pregnancy disorders, and (v) the expression of newly-described HLA-G isoforms at the maternal-fetal interface.
    Keywords:  HLA-G; Isoform; Polymorphism; Signaling; Trogocytosis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.humimm.2021.01.003
  8. medRxiv. 2021 Mar 08. pii: 2021.03.07.21253094. [Epub ahead of print]
    COVID-19 vaccine response in pregnant and lactating women: a cohort study.
    Kathryn J Gray, Evan A Bordt, Caroline Atyeo, Elizabeth Deriso, Babatunde Akinwunmi, Nicola Young, Aranxta Medina Baez, Lydia L Shook, Dana Cvrk, Kaitlyn James, Rose M De Guzman, Sara Brigida, Khady Diouf, Ilona Goldfarb, Lisa M Bebell, Lael M Yonker, Alessio Fasano, Sayed A Rabi, Michal A Elovitz, Galit Alter, Andrea G Edlow.
       Background: Pregnant and lactating women were excluded from initial COVID-19 vaccine trials; thus, data to guide vaccine decision-making are lacking. We sought to evaluate the immunogenicity and reactogenicity of COVID-19 mRNA vaccination in pregnant and lactating women.
    Methods: 131 reproductive-age vaccine recipients (84 pregnant, 31 lactating, and 16 non-pregnant) were enrolled in a prospective cohort study at two academic medical centers. Titers of SARS-CoV-2 Spike and RBD IgG, IgA and IgM were quantified in participant sera (N=131), umbilical cord sera (N=10), and breastmilk (N=31) at baseline, 2nd vaccine dose, 2-6 weeks post 2nd vaccine, and delivery by Luminex, and confirmed by ELISA. Titers were compared to pregnant women 4-12 weeks from native infection (N=37). Post-vaccination symptoms were assessed. Kruskal-Wallis tests and a mixed effects model, with correction for multiple comparisons, were used to assess differences between groups.
    Results: Vaccine-induced immune responses were equivalent in pregnant and lactating vs non-pregnant women. All titers were higher than those induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy. Vaccine-generated antibodies were present in all umbilical cord blood and breastmilk samples. SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG, but not IgA, increased in maternal blood and breastmilk with vaccine boost. No differences were noted in reactogenicity across the groups.
    Conclusions: COVID-19 mRNA vaccines generated robust humoral immunity in pregnant and lactating women, with immunogenicity and reactogenicity similar to that observed in non-pregnant women. Vaccine-induced immune responses were significantly greater than the response to natural infection. Immune transfer to neonates occurred via placental and breastmilk.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.07.21253094
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