Researchers identify proteins that prevent COVID-19 transmission through
the placenta
Protection of the placenta offers opportunities of future study of
prevention of COVID-19 transmission

Date:
September 2, 2020
Source:
Boston Medical Center
Summary:
Researchers have identified properties in placenta tissue that may
play an important role in preventing the transmission of COVID-19
from a mother with the virus to her fetus.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers from Boston Medical Center's Maxwell Finland Laboratory for Infectious Diseases have identified properties in placenta tissue that
may play an important role in preventing the transmission of COVID-19
from a mother with the virus to her fetus.


==========================================================================
The study results demonstrate that the COVID-19 virus universally invades
the placenta in cases with and without evidence of fetal infection, highlighting the protection that the placenta may offer against COVID-19 infection as current data indicates a less than five percent COVID-19 transmission rate in newborns from their mothers. Published in Placenta,
these results underscore the importance of using placenta tissue in
COVID-19 research studies aimed at developing novel ways to diagnose,
treat and prevent COVID-19 virus transmission.

For this study, the researchers examined placental tissue, which shares
many developmental and physiological similarities with the lung and the
immune response of the small and large intestine, making it a key source
of human tissue that can be used for ongoing COVID-19 research. It also contains a unique expression pattern of COVID-19 receptors that are
different from other organs, which could be helpful in the development
of COVID-19 treatments.

"The results of this study provide evidence for ongoing research of
COVID-19 infection at the maternal-fetal interface as means to better understand virus transmission and infection in other human tissues," said Elisha Wachman, MD, a neonatologist at Boston Medical Center, associate professor of pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine, and
principal investigator of this study.

"Previous research has shown that the placenta protects the fetus from
various types of infection, and exploring the particular ways in which
it protects the fetus from COVID-19 transmission may help identify
new targets of COVID-19 prevention and treatment." Throughout April
and May 2020, samples from 15 COVID-19 positive maternal-fetal dyads
were collected for this study; five cases had evidence of fetal
transmission. The placental tissue of the positive cases was analyzed
and compared with ten COVID-19 negative controls. The researchers found
that the COVID-19 virus was present in the placental tissues in cases
with and without evidence of fetal infection. They also found that the
placenta contains a unique pattern of cell surface proteins (TMPRSS2 and
ACE2) that are important for COVID-19 viral entry, which is different
from other cell types. The demographics of mother-baby dyads were also
studied and no differences were found to be significant, showing the
fetal transmission does not discriminate.

"Determining how the placenta could be preventing COVID-19 infections
during pregnancy can help provide clues on how to prevent infection in
other organs, such as the lungs and gut," said Elizabeth Taglauer, MD,
PhD, a neonatologist and placental biologist based at Boston Children's Hospital. "As a readily available tissue for research, the placenta can be
a valuable source of scientific study for a variety of human diseases in pregnancy and beyond." Funding for this study was provided by the Boston University Clinical and Translational Science Institute COVID-19 Pilot
Grant Program (UL1TR001430), NIH T32 1T32HD098061-01 (EST) and the Boston University School of Medicine Medical Student Summer Research Program.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Boston_Medical_Center. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Elizabeth Taglauer, Yoel Benarroch, Kevin Rop, Elizabeth Barnett,
Vishakha Sabharwal, Christina Yarrington, Elisha
M. Wachman. Consistent localization of SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein
and ACE2 over TMPRSS2 predominance in placental villi of 15
COVID-19 positive maternal-fetal dyads. Placenta, 2020; 100:
69 DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2020.08.015 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200902152204.htm

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