tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Nat Commun
. 2025 Nov 21;16(1):10261.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-65131-1. Presence of SARS-CoV-2 in fetal organs via intraamniotic infection
Shengnan Wu[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 [/SUP], Linchen Tang[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Zeying Liu[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 [/SUP], Meijuan Wu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Xiaoying He[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shanshan Shan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yicheng Zhou[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ke Lin[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Qingxin Xu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shidong Tan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ziyi Zhang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yao Xu[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Cancan Wang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Feiye Zhu[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Zhiyun Wei[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Liping Jin[SUP] 6 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
The COVID-19 pandemic underlined the need to focus on women's health, particularly during pregnancy. Recent studies have shown that maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy may increase obstetrical risks. However, intraamniotic SARS-CoV-2 infection has been understudied. Here, we conduct inclusive autopsies on 18 fetuses following maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection to determine whether and which fetal organs can be infected by SARS-CoV-2 in utero. We analyze a total of 538 samples from 32 tissue types to comprehensively map and quantify the distribution and replication patterns of SARS-CoV-2 across fetal organs. Our observations reveal that SARS-CoV-2 can be widely distributed in fetal organs through vertical transmission. As the length of time from SARS-CoV-2 infection to termination of pregnancy increases, the prevalence of infection in fetal organs decrease. Further, proteomic profiling reveals DNA damage and immune imbalance in infected organs.
. 2025 Nov 21;16(1):10261.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-65131-1. Presence of SARS-CoV-2 in fetal organs via intraamniotic infection
Shengnan Wu[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 [/SUP], Linchen Tang[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Zeying Liu[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 [/SUP], Meijuan Wu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Xiaoying He[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shanshan Shan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yicheng Zhou[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ke Lin[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Qingxin Xu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shidong Tan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ziyi Zhang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yao Xu[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Cancan Wang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Feiye Zhu[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Zhiyun Wei[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Liping Jin[SUP] 6 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 41271675
- PMCID: PMC12639148
- DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-65131-1
The COVID-19 pandemic underlined the need to focus on women's health, particularly during pregnancy. Recent studies have shown that maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy may increase obstetrical risks. However, intraamniotic SARS-CoV-2 infection has been understudied. Here, we conduct inclusive autopsies on 18 fetuses following maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection to determine whether and which fetal organs can be infected by SARS-CoV-2 in utero. We analyze a total of 538 samples from 32 tissue types to comprehensively map and quantify the distribution and replication patterns of SARS-CoV-2 across fetal organs. Our observations reveal that SARS-CoV-2 can be widely distributed in fetal organs through vertical transmission. As the length of time from SARS-CoV-2 infection to termination of pregnancy increases, the prevalence of infection in fetal organs decrease. Further, proteomic profiling reveals DNA damage and immune imbalance in infected organs.