Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40626364›Full record

ArticleJCI insight2025

Identification of bacteriophage DNA in human umbilical cord blood.

Jennifer A Sequoia, Naomi L Haddock, Paw Mar Gay, Layla J Barkal, Purnima Narasimhan, Nadine Martinez, Virginia D Winn, Paul L Bollyky

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JCI insight, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Jennifer A SequoiaDivision of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine, Department of Pediatrics.
Naomi L HaddockDivision of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Department of Medicine.
Paw Mar GayDivision of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine, Department of Pediatrics.
Layla J BarkalDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, and.
Purnima NarasimhanDivision of Reproductive, Stem Cell and Perinatal Biology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Nadine MartinezDivision of Reproductive, Stem Cell and Perinatal Biology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Virginia D WinnDivision of Reproductive, Stem Cell and Perinatal Biology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Paul L BollykyDivision of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Department of Medicine.

Funding

MOLECULAR &CELLULAR IMMUNOBIOLOGYT32AI007290 · NIAID · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Sean Curtis Bendall, Olivia M Martinez · 1985 to 2026
$27.0M
Preeclampsia to cardiovascular disease: Life course analysis of biomarkers and riskR01HL139844 · NHLBI · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI HLATKY, MARK A., WINN, VIRGINIA D · 2018 to 2021
$9.0M
The role of macrophages in chronic suppurative otitis media associated sensory hearing lossR01DC019965 · NIDCD · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI Peter Luke Santa Maria · 2022 to 2026
$3.6M
Stanford Training Program in Lung BiologyT32HL129970 · NHLBI · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI CORNFIELD, DAVID N., NICOLLS, MARK ROBERT · 2016 to 2025
$3.2M
Molecular images and machine learning to extract placental function from maternal cfDNAR01HD094513 · NICHD · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI BAKER, JULIE C, KUNDAJE, ANSHUL · 2018 to 2022
$3.1M
Non-invasive Monitoring for Infections and Rejection after Lung TransplantationR01AI182349 · NIAID · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Paul L Bollyky · 2024 to 2026
$1.8M
Pathogenesis of Pf Bacteriophages in Pseudomonas Cystic Fibrosis lung InfectionsR01HL148184 · NHLBI · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI MILLA, CARLOS · 2019 to 2022
$1.7M
Hydrogel Delivery of Bacteriophage to Treat Wound InfectionsR01EB038154 · NIBIB · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Paul L Bollyky, Ovijit Chaudhuri · 2025 to 2026
$1.2M
Studies on bacteriophages in respiratory diseasesK24AI166718 · NIAID · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Paul L Bollyky · 2022 to 2026
$815k
Circulating Bacteriophages for the Diagnosis of SepsisR21GM147838 · NIGMS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI BOLLYKY, PAUL L, YANG, SAMUEL · 2022 to 2023
$429k
NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL139844NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL148184NHLBI NIH HHS T32 HL129970NIAID NIH HHS K24 AI166718NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI182349NIAID NIH HHS T32 AI007290NIBIB NIH HHS R01 EB038154NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD094513NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC019965NIGMS NIH HHS R21 GM147838
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Bacteriophages, viruses that parasitize bacteria, are abundant in the human microbiome and may influence human health, in part, through their interactions with bacterial hosts. Whether endogenous bacteriophages or their products are vertically transmitted from mother to fetus during human pregnancy is not known. Here, we searched for bacteriophage sequences from five bacteriophage databases (474,031 total sequences) in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) of paired maternal and umbilical cord blood samples from two independent cohorts. First, we sequenced cfDNA from 10 pairs of maternal and cord blood samples, including four pairs affected by preeclampsia. We validated our findings in a previously published dataset of 62 paired maternal and cord blood samples, including 43 pairs from preterm or chorioamnionitis-affected deliveries. We identified 94 and 596 bacteriophage sequences in maternal and cord blood cfDNA samples from the first and second cohort, respectively. We identified 58 phage sequences across maternal-infant dyads and 581 phage sequences that were unique to a single sample. We did not identify any phage sequences consistently associated with preeclampsia, preterm, or chorioamnionitis-affected samples. This study demonstrated the presence of bacteriophage DNA in human cord blood at birth, providing evidence that the human fetus is exposed to bacteriophage DNA in utero.

Indexed as

BacteriophagesDNA, ViralFetal BloodAdultCell-Free Nucleic AcidsChorioamnionitisFemaleHumansInfant, NewbornPre-EclampsiaPregnancyPremature BirthCell-Free Nucleic AcidsDNA, ViralBacterial infectionsInfectious diseaseMicrobiology

Identifiers

PMID40626364
PMCPMC12288903

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Registered trials

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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.