tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Cell Rep Med
. 2024 Apr 9:101515.
doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101515. Online ahead of print. The gonadal niche safeguards human fetal germline cell development following maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection
Shijun Shen[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Mengting Wang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Xiaocui Li[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Beiying Wang[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Wei Hong[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Wei Li[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Ben Xu[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Zhenxiang Guo[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Ruichen Han[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Shanru Yi[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Zhiping Wu[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Xiaoying He[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Liping Wang[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Qianshu Zhu[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Guang Yang[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Hong Wang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Qiaolin Deng[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Jiayu Chen[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Shaorong Gao[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Cizhong Jiang[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Rui Gao[SUP] 10 [/SUP]
Affiliations
During pregnancy, germline development is vital for maintaining the continuation of species. Recent studies have shown increased pregnancy risks in COVID-19 patients at the perinatal stage. However, the potential consequence of infection for reproductive quality in developing fetuses remains unclear. Here, we analyze the transcriptome and DNA methylome of the fetal germline following maternal severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. We find that infection at early gestational age, a critical period of human primordial germ cell specification and epigenetic reprogramming, trivially affects fetal germ cell (FGC) development. Additionally, FGC-niche communications are not compromised by maternal infection. Strikingly, both general and SARS-CoV-2-specific immune pathways are greatly activated in gonadal niche cells to protect FGCs from maternal infection. Notably, there occurs an "in advance" development tendency in FGCs after maternal infection. Our study provides insights into the impacts of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on fetal germline development and serves as potential clinical guidance for future pandemics.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; developing fetus; germline cell; gonadal niche; host defense; human reproduction; immune response; pregnancy.
. 2024 Apr 9:101515.
doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101515. Online ahead of print. The gonadal niche safeguards human fetal germline cell development following maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection
Shijun Shen[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Mengting Wang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Xiaocui Li[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Beiying Wang[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Wei Hong[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Wei Li[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Ben Xu[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Zhenxiang Guo[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Ruichen Han[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Shanru Yi[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Zhiping Wu[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Xiaoying He[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Liping Wang[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Qianshu Zhu[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Guang Yang[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Hong Wang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Qiaolin Deng[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Jiayu Chen[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Shaorong Gao[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Cizhong Jiang[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Rui Gao[SUP] 10 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 38631348
- DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101515
During pregnancy, germline development is vital for maintaining the continuation of species. Recent studies have shown increased pregnancy risks in COVID-19 patients at the perinatal stage. However, the potential consequence of infection for reproductive quality in developing fetuses remains unclear. Here, we analyze the transcriptome and DNA methylome of the fetal germline following maternal severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. We find that infection at early gestational age, a critical period of human primordial germ cell specification and epigenetic reprogramming, trivially affects fetal germ cell (FGC) development. Additionally, FGC-niche communications are not compromised by maternal infection. Strikingly, both general and SARS-CoV-2-specific immune pathways are greatly activated in gonadal niche cells to protect FGCs from maternal infection. Notably, there occurs an "in advance" development tendency in FGCs after maternal infection. Our study provides insights into the impacts of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on fetal germline development and serves as potential clinical guidance for future pandemics.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; developing fetus; germline cell; gonadal niche; host defense; human reproduction; immune response; pregnancy.