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Sexually dimorphic placental responses to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Bordt, EA; Shook, LL; Atyeo, C; Pullen, KM; De Guzman, RM; Meinsohn, M-C; Chauvin, M; Fischinger, S; Yockey, LJ; James, K; Lima, R; Yonker, LM ...
Published in: bioRxiv
March 29, 2021

There is a persistent male bias in the prevalence and severity of COVID-19 disease. Underlying mechanisms accounting for this sex difference remain incompletely understood. Interferon responses have been implicated as a modulator of disease in adults, and play a key role in the placental anti-viral response. Moreover, the interferon response has been shown to alter Fc-receptor expression, and therefore may impact placental antibody transfer. Here we examined the intersection of viral-induced placental interferon responses, maternal-fetal antibody transfer, and fetal sex. Placental interferon stimulated genes (ISGs), Fc-receptor expression, and SARS-CoV-2 antibody transfer were interrogated in 68 pregnancies. Sexually dimorphic placental expression of ISGs, interleukin-10, and Fc receptors was observed following maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection, with upregulation in males. Reduced maternal SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody titers and impaired placental antibody transfer were noted in pregnancies with a male fetus. These results demonstrate fetal sex-specific maternal and placental adaptive and innate immune responses to SARS-CoV-2.

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bioRxiv

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Publication Date

March 29, 2021

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United States
 

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Bordt, E. A., Shook, L. L., Atyeo, C., Pullen, K. M., De Guzman, R. M., Meinsohn, M.-C., … Edlow, A. G. (2021). Sexually dimorphic placental responses to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. BioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.29.437516
Bordt, Evan A., Lydia L. Shook, Caroline Atyeo, Krista M. Pullen, Rose M. De Guzman, Marie-Charlotte Meinsohn, Maeva Chauvin, et al. “Sexually dimorphic placental responses to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection.BioRxiv, March 29, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.29.437516.
Bordt EA, Shook LL, Atyeo C, Pullen KM, De Guzman RM, Meinsohn M-C, et al. Sexually dimorphic placental responses to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. bioRxiv. 2021 Mar 29;
Bordt, Evan A., et al. “Sexually dimorphic placental responses to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection.BioRxiv, Mar. 2021. Pubmed, doi:10.1101/2021.03.29.437516.
Bordt EA, Shook LL, Atyeo C, Pullen KM, De Guzman RM, Meinsohn M-C, Chauvin M, Fischinger S, Yockey LJ, James K, Lima R, Yonker LM, Fasano A, Brigida S, Bebell LM, Roberts DJ, Pépin D, Huh JR, Bilbo SD, Li JZ, Kaimal A, Schust D, Gray KJ, Lauffenburger D, Alter G, Edlow AG. Sexually dimorphic placental responses to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. bioRxiv. 2021 Mar 29;

Published In

bioRxiv

DOI

Publication Date

March 29, 2021

Location

United States