|
1
|
Quanquin NM, Barres LG, Aliyari SR, Day NT, Gerami H, Fisher SJ, Kakuru A, Kamya MR, Havlir DV, Feeney M, Dorsey G, Cheng G, Gaw SL. Gravidity-dependent associations between interferon response and birth weight in placental malaria. Malar J 2020; 19:280. [PMID: 32758231 PMCID: PMC7409479 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-020-03351-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Maternal malarial infection leads to poor perinatal outcomes, including low birth weight from preterm delivery and/or fetal growth restriction, particularly in primigravidas. In placental malaria, Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells cause an inflammatory response that can interfere with maternal-fetal exchange, leading to poor growth. The type I interferon (IFN-I) pathway plays an immunomodulatory role in viral and bacterial infections, usually by suppressing inflammatory responses. However, its role in placental malaria is unknown. This study examines the cytokine responses in placental tissue from subsets of malaria-infected and uninfected women, and attempts to correlate them with particular birth outcomes. METHODS 40 whole placental biopsy samples were obtained from pregnant women at least 16 years of age recruited to a larger prospective chemoprevention trial against malaria. These were patients at Tororo District Hospital in Uganda, an area of high malaria endemicity where approximately 40% of women have evidence of malaria infection at delivery. They were regularly followed at a local clinic and monitored for fever, with blood smears performed then and at time of delivery to diagnose malaria infection. Placenta biopsies were taken for histological diagnosis of placental malaria, as well as quantitative PCR analysis of genes in the IFN-I pathway (IFN-β, IL-10 and MX-1). Parameters such as infant birth weight and gestational age were also recorded. RESULTS Histological analysis revealed placental malaria in 18 samples, while 22 were found to be uninfected. RT-PCR analysis showed a four-fold increase in IFN-β and IL-10 expression in multigravidas with placental malaria when compared to gravidity-matched, uninfected controls. This effect was not observed in primigravidas. Interestingly, linear regression analysis showed a positive association between IFN-β levels and higher birth weights (β = 101.2 g per log2-fold increase in IFN-β expression, p = 0.042). This association was strongest in primigravidas with placental malaria (β = 339.0, p = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate differential regulation of the IFN-I pathway in placental malaria according to gravidity, with the greatest anti-inflammatory response seen in multigravidas. The association between IFN-β levels and higher birth weight also suggests a protective role for IFN-I against fetal growth restriction in placental malaria.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Natalie M Quanquin
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Lauren G Barres
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, David Geffen School of Medicine At UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Saba R Aliyari
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Nathan T Day
- Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Ave. HSE16, Box 0556, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Hoda Gerami
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Susan J Fisher
- Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Ave. HSE16, Box 0556, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Abel Kakuru
- Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Moses R Kamya
- Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Diane V Havlir
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Margaret Feeney
- Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Grant Dorsey
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Genhong Cheng
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Stephanie L Gaw
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. .,Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, David Geffen School of Medicine At UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. .,Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Ave. HSE16, Box 0556, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA.
| |
Collapse
|