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Review
. 2023 Jun 22;11(7):1637.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11071637.

Gestational Viral Infections: Role of Host Immune System

Silvia Beltrami  1 , Sabrina Rizzo  1 , Giovanna Schiuma  1 , Giorgia Speltri  1 , Dario Di Luca  2 , Roberta Rizzo  1 , Daria Bortolotti  1
Affiliations
Review

Gestational Viral Infections: Role of Host Immune System

Silvia Beltrami et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

Viral infections in pregnancy are major causes of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Infections can develop in the neonate transplacentally, perinatally, or postnatally (from breast milk or other sources) and lead to different clinical manifestations, depending on the viral agent and the gestational age at exposure. Viewing the peculiar tolerogenic status which characterizes pregnancy, viruses could exploit this peculiar immunological status to spread or affect the maternal immune system, adopting several evasion strategies. In fact, both DNA and RNA virus might have a deep impact on both innate and acquired immune systems. For this reason, investigating the interaction with these pathogens and the host's immune system during pregnancy is crucial not only for the development of most effective therapies and diagnosis but mostly for prevention. In this review, we will analyze some of the most important DNA and RNA viruses related to gestational infections.

Keywords: DNA viruses; RNA viruses; immune system; pregnancy; viruses.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Representation of the main DNA viruses and their infection in newborn, pregnancy and mother immunity.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Representation of herpesviruses infection’s main effects on newborn, pregnancy and mother immunity.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Representation of RNA viral infection and their effect in pregnancy, infants and mother/fetus immunity.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Representation of emerging viruses and their role in immune response alteration as cause of placenta and fetal disorders.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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