ArticleNature2019
Human placenta has no microbiome but can contain potential pathogens.
Article in Nature, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 404 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
404 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 685 citations in OpenAlex.
- [Pathways and Mechanisms of Periodontitis Contributing to Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes].Sichuan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Sichuan University. Medical science edition · 2023Pooled it
- Maternal-to-neonatal microbial transmission and impact of prenatal probiotics on neonatal gut development.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Trial
- Obstetric Pharmacomicrobiomics.Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2026Review
- Characterization of Resolved, Localized, and Progressing Infections at the Maternal-Fetal Interface in a Nonhuman Primate Model.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Bile Microbiota Profiling in Obese and Non-Obese Patients: A Comparison of Shotgun Metagenomics and 16S rRNA Amplicon Sequencing.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Review
- The Oral and Nasal Gateway Microbiomes: Salivaomics and Systemic Health at the Airway-Digestive Interface.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- Combined effects of bacterial vaginal colonization and HIV on pregnancy outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Research square · 2026Article
- The Female Reproductive Microbiome: Mechanistic Insights and Bioengineering Perspectives.Biology · 2026Review
- Short-term temporal variation in the early-life gut microbiota links maternal clinical phenotypes to neonatal jaundice.BMC microbiology · 2026Article
- Skin metatranscriptomics reveals a landscape of variation in microbial activity and gene expression across the human body.Nature biotechnology · 2026Article
- Isolation and Characterization of Bifidobacterium longum A1, an Isolate from Faeces of an Exclusively Breast-fed Infant with Probiotic Potential.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2026Article
- The Maternal Microbiome in Pregnancy: From Physiological Changes to Dysbiosis and Obstetrical Complications-Therapeutic Perspectives.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Maternal Oral Microbiome Dysbiosis and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes: Microbial Signatures, Inflammatory Pathways, and Clinical Evidence.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Placental Pathogens Associated With Adverse Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes.Open forum infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Mother-to-offspring microbial vertical transmission: timing, determinants, and impact on offspring susceptibility to gastrointestinal diseases.Medical review (2021) · 2026Review
- Maternal Microbiome in Fetal Programming: A One Health Perspective on Translational Implications for Early-Life Health.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- The human skin virome: Ecological dynamics, aberrant profiles, and therapeutic opportunities.Cell host & microbe · 2026Review
- Tissue-specific adaptation of human T cells is preserved during tissue inflammation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Towards microbiome-informed strategies for predicting and preventing pregnancy complications.Reproduction & fertility · 2026Review
344 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
We sought to determine whether pre-eclampsia, spontaneous preterm birth or the delivery of infants who are small for gestational age were associated with the presence of bacterial DNA in the human placenta. Here we show that there was no evidence for the presence of bacteria in the large majority of placental samples, from both complicated and uncomplicated pregnancies. Almost all signals were related either to the acquisition of bacteria during labour and delivery, or to contamination of laboratory reagents with bacterial DNA. The exception was Streptococcus agalactiae (group B Streptococcus), for which non-contaminant signals were detected in approximately 5% of samples collected before the onset of labour. We conclude that bacterial infection of the placenta is not a common cause of adverse pregnancy outcome and that the human placenta does not have a microbiome, but it does represent a potential site of perinatal acquisition of S. agalactiae, a major cause of neonatal sepsis.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.