Larsson Christer, Andersson Marie, Guo Betty P, Nordstrand Annika, Hagerstrand Inga, Carlsson Sara, Bergstrom Sven
Department of Molecular Biology, Umea University, Umea, Sweden.
J Infect Dis. 2006 Nov 15;194(10):1367-74. doi: 10.1086/508425. Epub 2006 Oct 3.
Relapsing-fever borreliosis caused by Borrelia duttonii is a common cause of complications of pregnancy, miscarriage, and neonatal death in sub-Saharan Africa. We established a murine model of gestational relapsing fever infection for the study of the pathological development of these complications. We demonstrate that B. duttonii infection during pregnancy results in intrauterine growth retardation, as well as placental damage and inflammation, impaired fetal circulation, and decreased maternal hemoglobin levels. We show that spirochetes frequently cross the maternal-fetal barrier, resulting in congenital infection. Furthermore, we compared the severity of infection in pregnant and nonpregnant mice and show that pregnancy has a protective effect. This model closely parallels the consequences of human gestational infection, and our results provide insight into the mechanisms behind the complications of pregnancy that have been reported in human relapsing-fever infection.
由达顿疏螺旋体引起的回归热型疏螺旋体病是撒哈拉以南非洲地区妊娠并发症、流产和新生儿死亡的常见原因。我们建立了妊娠期回归热感染的小鼠模型，用于研究这些并发症的病理发展过程。我们证明，孕期感染达顿疏螺旋体会导致子宫内生长迟缓，以及胎盘损伤和炎症、胎儿循环受损和母体血红蛋白水平下降。我们发现螺旋体经常穿过母婴屏障，导致先天性感染。此外，我们比较了怀孕小鼠和未怀孕小鼠的感染严重程度，发现怀孕具有保护作用。该模型与人类妊娠期感染的后果非常相似，我们的研究结果为人类回归热感染中所报道的妊娠并发症背后的机制提供了见解。
