ArticlePloS one2012
Human cytomegalovirus-induces cytokine changes in the placenta with implications for adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed, 88 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Association between Prenatal Nicotine Exposure and Offspring's Hearing Impairment.American journal of perinatology · 2024Trial
- Human cytomegalovirus at the maternal-fetal interface: an overview of pathogenesis, defence, and interventions.Clinical science (London, England : 1979) · 2026Review
- Evaluating valaciclovir, letermovir, and maribavir safety in first-trimester human placental development.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Review
- Placenta - A Competent, But Not Infallible, Antiviral and Antiparasitic Barrier.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2025Review
- Article
- Is the vIL-10 Protein from Cytomegalovirus Associated with the Potential Development of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia?Viruses · 2025Review
- Oxidative Stress Induced by Antivirals: Implications for Adverse Outcomes During Pregnancy and in Newborns.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Article
- Cytomegalovirus infection during pregnancy.Obstetrics & gynecology science · 2023Article
- Counting the Toll of Inflammation on Schizophrenia-A Potential Role for Toll-like Receptors.Biomolecules · 2023Review
- Genetic and Functional Characterization of Congenital HCMV Clinical Strains in Ex Vivo First Trimester Placental Model.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Review
- Gestational Antibodies to C. pneumoniae, H. pylori and CMV in Women with Preeclampsia and in Matched Controls.Maternal and child health journal · 2022Article
- The Association of Cytomegalovirus IgM and Allostatic Load.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Potential of Anti-CMV Immunoglobulin Cytotect CPMicroorganisms · 2022Article
- Article
- Review of studies of severe acute respiratory syndrome related coronavirus-2 pathogenesis in human organoid models.Reviews in medical virology · 2021Review
- Article
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) Coinfection of Infant Tonsil Epithelium May Synergistically Promote both HIV-1 and HCMV Spread and Infection.Journal of virology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection of the developing fetus can result in adverse pregnancy outcomes including death in utero. Fetal injury results from direct viral cytopathic damage to the CMV-infected fetus, although evidence suggests CMV placental infection may indirectly cause injury to the fetus, possibly via immune dysregulation with placental dysfunction. This study investigated the effects of CMV infection on expression of the chemokine MCP-1 (CCL2) and cytokine TNF-α in placentae from naturally infected stillborn babies, and compared these changes with those found in placental villous explant histocultures acutely infected with CMV ex vivo. Tissue cytokine protein levels were assessed using quantitative immunohistochemistry. CMV-infected placentae from stillborn babies had significantly elevated MCP-1 and TNF-α levels compared with uninfected placentae (p = 0.001 and p = 0.007), which was not observed in placentae infected with other microorganisms (p = 0.62 and p = 0.71) (n = 7 per group). Modelling acute clinical infection using ex vivo placental explant histocultures showed infection with CMV laboratory strain AD169 (0.2 pfu/ml) caused significantly elevated expression of MCP-1 and TNF-α compared with uninfected explants (p = 0.0003 and p<0.0001) (n = 25 per group). Explant infection with wild-type Merlin at a tenfold lower multiplicity of infection (0.02 pfu/ml), caused a significant positive correlation between increased explant infection and upregulation of MCP-1 and TNF-α expression (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.017). Cytokine dysregulation has been associated with adverse outcomes of pregnancy, and can negatively affect placental development and function. These novel findings demonstrate CMV infection modulates the placental immune environment in vivo and in a multicellular ex vivo model, suggesting CMV-induced cytokine modulation as a potential initiator and/or exacerbator of placental and fetal injury.
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Registered trials
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