Genotype 4 Hepatitis E virus replicates in the placenta, causes severe histopathological damage, and vertically transmits to fetuses.

Zhongyao Qian Tengyuan Li Yueping Xia Chao Cong Shuangfeng Chen Yike Zhang Shiling Gong Wenjing Wang Huichan Liu Dongxue Chen Wanqiu Zhao Guo Zhong Yinlong Deng Wenhai Yu Daqiao Wei Xiongwu Yu Fen Huang

J Infect

Medical Faculty, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, PR China; Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Virology, Kunming, PR China. Electronic address:

Published: July 2023

HEV infection in pregnant women can lead to serious outcomes such as maternal death, stillbirth, and complications during pregnancy.
Research of placenta from HEV-4 infected women showed that the virus replicates in the placenta and can be transmitted to fetuses, causing significant damage and inflammation.
The study indicates that differences in immune responses between infected pregnant and non-pregnant women may play a role in the severity of the outcomes associated with HEV-4 infection.

Background: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in pregnant women causes adverse pregnancy outcomes, including maternal death, premature delivery, stillbirth, and fetal infection. However, the pathogenesis of maternal and fetal HEV infection is unclear.

Methods: Placenta and placental appendixes were collected from HEV-4 infected pregnant women to explore the vertical transmission of HEV from mothers to fetuses.

Results: HEV-4 replicated in the placenta, placental membrane, and umbilical cord and was vertically transmitted from mothers to fetuses. HEV-4 placental infection resulted in serious histopathological damage, such as fibrosis and calcification, and severe inflammatory responses. Adverse maternal outcomes were observed in 38.5% of HEV-4 infected pregnant women. The distinct cytokine/chemokine expression patterns of HEV-infected pregnant women and nonpregnant women may contribute to the adverse pregnancy outcomes. Furthermore, the impaired maternal and fetal innate immune responses against HEV-4 facilitated viral replication during pregnancy.

Conclusion: HEV-4 replicates in the placenta and is vertically transmitted from mothers to fetuses, causing severe histopathological damage.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2023.05.003	DOI Listing

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