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Gabrielli L, Bonasoni MP, Piccirilli G, Petrisli E, Venturoli S, Cantiani A, Pavoni M, Marsico C, Capretti MG, Simonazzi G, Lazzarotto T. The Auditory Pathway in Congenitally Cytomegalovirus-Infected Human Fetuses. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:2636. [PMID: 38473883 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25052636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the main cause of non-hereditary sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). In order to shed light on SNHL pathophysiology, we examined the auditory pathway in CMV-infected fetuses; the temporal lobe, in particular the auditory cortex, and the inner ear. We investigated both inner ears and temporal lobes of 20 human CMV-infected fetuses at 21 weeks of gestation. As a negative group, five fetuses from spontaneous miscarriages without CMV infection were studied. Inner ears and temporal lobes were histologically examined, immunohistochemistry for CMV and CMV-PCR were performed. On the auditory cortex, we evaluated the local microglial reaction to the infection. CMV-positive cells were found in 14/20 brains and the damage was classified as severe, moderate, or mild, according to histological features. Fetuses with severe brain damage had a statistically higher temporal lobe viral load and a higher number of activated microglial cells in the auditory cortex compared to fetuses with mild brain damage (p: 0.01; p: 0.01). In the inner ears, the marginal cells of the stria vascularis were the most CMV positive. In our study, CMV affected the auditory pathway, suggesting a tropism for this route. In addition, in the auditory cortex, microglial activation may favor further tissue damage contributing to hearing loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liliana Gabrielli
- Microbiology Unit, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | | | - Giulia Piccirilli
- Microbiology Unit, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Evangelia Petrisli
- Microbiology Unit, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Simona Venturoli
- Microbiology Unit, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Alessia Cantiani
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Matteo Pavoni
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Concetta Marsico
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, IRCCS AziendaOspedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Maria Grazia Capretti
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, IRCCS AziendaOspedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Giuliana Simonazzi
- Obstetric Unit, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Section of Obstetrics, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Tiziana Lazzarotto
- Microbiology Unit, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
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Guo Y, Lv X, Zhang J, Li C, Wei L, Zhou N, Xu J, Tian Y, Wang K. Gray matter atrophy and corresponding impairments in connectivity in patients with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis. Brain Imaging Behav 2022; 16:2001-2010. [PMID: 35997922 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-022-00670-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is a severe autoimmune disease that is commonly accompanied by cognitive impairment and various neurological and psychiatric symptoms, advanced image analyses help explore the pathogenesis of this disease. Therefore, this study aimed to explore specific structural and functional alterations and their relationship with the clinical symptoms of anti-NMDAR encephalitis. In this study, twenty-two patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis after the acute stage and 29 controls received cognitive assessments and magnetic resonance imaging. Grey matter atrophy was measured using voxel-based morphometry, and functional alterations in abnormal regions were subsequently investigated using resting state functional connectivity (RSFC). Finally, correlation analyses were performed to explore the associations between imaging alterations and cognitive assessments. The patients demonstrated significant gray matter atrophy in the bilateral triangle part of the inferior frontal gyrus (triIFG.L and triIFG.R) and right precuneus, decreased RSFC between triIFG.L and bilateral Heschl gyrus (HES), decreased RSFC between triIFG.R and HES.R, decreased RSFC between right precuneus and left cerebellum, and increased RSFC between triIFG.R and left superior frontal gyrus. Further correlation analyses showed that the gray matter volume in triIFG.R and decreased RSFC between triIFG.L and HES.R were associated with decreased memory scores, whereas decreased RSFC between triIFG.R and HES.R was marginally correlated with the disease course in patients. In conclusion, this study suggests that cognitive impairments in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis may be mainly associated with gray matter atrophy and abnormal RSFC in the triIFG. These findings provide new insights into anti-NMDAR encephalitis pathogenesis and help explore potential treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanyuan Guo
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, China.,Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, 230022, China
| | - Xinyi Lv
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230001, China
| | - Juanjuan Zhang
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, China.,Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, 230022, China
| | - Chenglong Li
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, China.,Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, 230022, China
| | - Ling Wei
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, China.,Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei, 230022, China
| | - Nong Zhou
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, China
| | - Jinping Xu
- Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
| | - Yanghua Tian
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, China. .,Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, 230088, China. .,Collaborative Innovation Center of Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Mental Health, Hefei, 230022, China.
| | - Kai Wang
- Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, China.,Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, 230088, China.,Collaborative Innovation Center of Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Mental Health, Hefei, 230022, China.,The School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China
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