Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Mar;62(2):54-67.
doi: 10.1111/cga.12458. Epub 2022 Jan 6.

Potential role of viral infections in miscarriage and insights into the underlying molecular mechanisms

Zahra Heydarifard  1 , Sevrin Zadheidar  1 , Jila Yavarian  1 , Somayeh Shatizadeh Malekshahi  2 , Shirin Kalantari  1 , Talat Mokhtari-Azad  1 , Nazanin-Zahra Shafiei-Jandaghi  1
Affiliations
Review

Potential role of viral infections in miscarriage and insights into the underlying molecular mechanisms

Zahra Heydarifard et al. Congenit Anom (Kyoto). 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Intrauterine viruses can infect the decidua and placenta and cause adverse effects on the fetus during gestation. This review discusses the contribution of various viral infections to miscarriage and the molecular mechanisms by which viruses can cause devastating effects on healthy fetuses and induce miscarriage. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 as newly emerged coronavirus was considered here, due to the concerns about its role during pregnancy and inducing miscarriage, as well. In this narrative review, an extensive literature search was conducted to find all studies investigating viral infections in miscarriage and their molecular mechanisms published over the past 20 years. The results of various studies investigating the roles of 20 viral infections in miscarriage are presented. Then, the mechanisms of pregnancy loss in viral infections were addressed, including alteration of trophoblast invasion and placental dysfunction, inducing excessive maternal immune response, and inducing apoptosis in the placental tissue. Viruses may cause pregnancy loss through different mechanisms and our knowledge about these mechanisms can be helpful for controlling or preventing viral infections and achieving a successful pregnancy.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; miscarriage; molecular mechanism; pregnancy; viral infection.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Fisher S, Genbacev O, Maidji E, Pereira L. Human cytomegalovirus infection of placental cytotrophoblasts in vitro and in utero: implications for transmission and pathogenesis. Virol J. 2000;74(15):6808-6820.
    1. Racicot K, Mor G. Risks associated with viral infections during pregnancy. J Clin Investig. 2017;127(5):1591-1599.
    1. Sayyadi-Dehno Z, Seyed Khorrami SM, Ghavami N, et al. Molecular detection of adeno-associated virus DNA in cases of spontaneous and therapeutic abortion. Fetal Pediatr Pathol. 2019;38(3):206-214.
    1. Pereira CC, de Freitas LB, de Vargas PRM, de Azevedo MLB, do Nascimento JP, Spano LC. Molecular detection of adeno-associated virus in cases of spontaneous and intentional human abortion. J Med Virol. 2010;82(10):1689-1693.
    1. Giakoumelou S, Wheelhouse N, Cuschieri K, Entrican G, Howie SE, Horne AW. The role of infection in miscarriage. Hum Reprod Update. 2015;22(1):116-133.

LinkOut - more resources