Estrogen receptors in mom's placenta critical during viral infection
Innate immune response would harm the fetus, so placenta tamps it down
Date:
January 21, 2021
Source:
Duke University
Summary:
A team of researchers has found a mechanism that protects a fetus
from harm when the mother's innate immune system responds to a viral
infection. Inflammation that would harm the fetus is dampened by
a cell- surface estrogen receptor called GPER1 that is especially
abundant in the placenta and fetal tissues.
FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers at Duke and Mt. Sinai have identified a molecular mechanism
that prevents a viral infection during a mother's pregnancy from harming
her unborn baby.
==========================================================================
When a person becomes infected by a virus, their immune system sends out
a chemical signal called type I interferon, which tells surrounding cells
to increase their anti-viral defenses, including making more inflammation.
This response helps to prevent the virus from copying itself and gives
the adaptive immune system more time to learn about the new invader and
begin to hunt it down.
A pregnant woman who encounters a virus generates these same signals
to protect herself, but if those signaling molecules and the resulting inflammation were able to cross the placenta and reach the fetus, they
would lead to serious developmental abnormalities and even fetal death.
But this generally doesn't happen, except for the Zika virus and a handful
of other viruses known to replicate inside the fetus and harm it. (Despite almost 100 million reported cases of COVID-19 to date around the world,
there is no strong evidence that the virus which causes the disease, SARS-CoV-2, poses a threat to fetuses.) The research team found a
mechanism that protects the fetus from the harm the mother's immune
response to a virus could cause. In a paper appearing Jan. 15 in Science,
they identify a key player in this pathway as a cell-surface estrogen
receptor called GPER1 that is especially abundant in the placenta and
fetal tissues.
========================================================================== "This likely explains why many maternal infections during pregnancy don't
hurt the fetus," said study leader Nicholas Heaton, an assistant professor
of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology in the Duke School of Medicine.
Having arrived at GPER1 as a possible candidate for this effect by a
series of screens, the researchers found GPER1 receptors concentrated in
the placenta, where the mother's blood supply passes oxygen and nutrients
over to the fetus.
Estrogen levels are much higher during pregnancy, making the GPER1
receptor even better able to suppress interferon signaling in the placenta
and developing fetus.
The researchers tried blocking this particular estrogen receptor in
pregnant mice with a compound called G15. They found changes in the
placenta during influenza A virus infection or G15 treatment, which led
to slightly smaller mouse pups. But with both G15 and influenza virus
present, the pups were dramatically smaller and many were stillborn.
They also tested mouse pregnancies with Zika and influenza B virus
infections and saw that the addition of the G15 treatment again led to
many more fetal defects.
"If we disable the GPER1 pathway, even normally benign maternal infections (like flu) will now cause major fetal developmental issues," Heaton said.
========================================================================== Heaton calls it a pathway because his team doesn't yet understand how
GPER1 provides this protection. They suspect the receptor triggers other downstream mechanisms that come into play.
Heaton said the beauty of this system being concentrated around the baby
is that it protects the fetus from inflammation, while leaving the rest
of the mother's tissues more able to use interferon to fight the virus.
The researchers are next going to pursue tests of whether
"hyperactivating" the GPER1 pathway would be a way to protect fetal
development when a mother becomes virally infected.
This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health,
the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, the National
Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and the Hartwell Foundation. (Grant
Nos. T32-CA009111, T32-AI07647, R21AI139593, R21AI144844, R01AI37031, R01HL142985) CITATION: "GPER1 is Required to Protect Fetal Health
from Maternal Inflammation," Alfred Harding, Marisa Goff, Heather
Froggatt, Jean Lim, Nicholas Heaton. Science, Jan. 15, 2021. DOI: 10.1126/science.aba9001
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Duke_University. Original written
by Karl Leif Bates.
Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Alfred T. Harding, Marisa A. Goff, Heather M. Froggatt, Jean K. Lim,
Nicholas S. Heaton. GPER1 is required to protect fetal health
from maternal inflammation. Science, 2021; 371 (6526): 271 DOI:
10.1126/ science.aba9001 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210121131712.htm
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