Department of Microbiological Laboratory Technology, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Key laboratory for the prevention and control of infectious diseases (key laboratory of China's "13th Five-Year", Shandong University), Jinan, Shandong Province, China.
Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Jinan, Shandong Province, China.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2020 Jul 30;14(7):e0008453. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008453. eCollection 2020 Jul.
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is a novel tick-borne phlebovirus, which is listed in the most dangerous pathogens by the World Health Organization, and has 12-30% fatality rates. SFTSV antibodies were reported in minks that experienced abortion or reproductive failure. The aim of this study was to determine whether SFTSV infection causes an adverse pregnancy outcome in the fetus using a pregnant mouse model.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We found SFTSV in the fetus after infection in pregnant mice, and some dams showed adverse pregnancy outcomes after infection with SFTSV including placental damage, fetal reabsorption, and fetal intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). SFTSV had obvious tropism characteristics in the placenta, especially in the labyrinth. In early-gestation, pregnant mice infected with SFTSV had fetal IUGR and a high viral load in the fetus. The virus widely spread in infected fetuses, including the hindbrain, thymus, heart, spinal cord, and liver.
Our study demonstrated that SFTSV was vertically transmitted to the fetus through the placental barrier of immunocompetent mice, and resulted in adverse pregnancy outcomes.
严重发热伴血小板减少综合征病毒（SFTSV）是一种新型蜱传黄病毒，被世界卫生组织列为最危险的病原体之一，其病死率为 12%-30%。SFTSV 抗体在发生流产或繁殖失败的貂中被报道过。本研究旨在使用怀孕小鼠模型来确定 SFTSV 感染是否会导致胎儿不良妊娠结局。
方法/主要发现：我们发现感染怀孕小鼠后，SFTSV 可在胎儿中检出，并且一些母鼠在感染 SFTSV 后表现出不良妊娠结局，包括胎盘损伤、胎儿吸收和胎儿宫内生长受限（IUGR）。SFTSV 在胎盘中有明显的嗜性特征，尤其是在胎盘的绒毛膜板。在妊娠早期，感染 SFTSV 的怀孕小鼠的胎儿 IUGR，且胎儿中的病毒载量很高。病毒在受感染的胎儿中广泛传播，包括后脑、胸腺、心脏、脊髓和肝脏。
本研究表明，SFTSV 通过免疫功能正常的小鼠胎盘屏障垂直传播至胎儿，并导致不良妊娠结局。
