IMMUNOLOGY2024™ Conference Recordings-Mapping the cellular landscape of the maternal-fetal interface in women with preterm birth and chronic chorioamnionitis

Mapping the cellular landscape of the maternal-fetal interface in women with preterm birth and chronic chorioamnionitis

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Dustin Levinson presented a study on chronic chorioamnionitis (CCA), an underdiagnosed placental inflammation linked to preterm birth and fetal loss. Using imaging mass cytometry and spatial transcriptomics on fetal membrane samples, the team found that women with preterm birth and CCA had increased infiltration of immune cells, especially CD8 T cells, some CD4 T cells, and macrophages. These T cells were mainly effector-memory, highly proliferative, and more cytotoxic, while macrophages showed markers of alternative activation. Transcriptomic and spatial analyses suggested immune activation, interferon-gamma/IL-12 signaling, and notable spatial interactions among T cells, myeloid cells, and NK cells. The study also identified distinct tissue microenvironments that recapitulated membrane structure and differed in CCA. Levinson concluded that CCA involves not just immune cell infiltration but altered immune function and spatial organization, and future work will test mechanisms in vitro and in animal models.

Keywords

chronic chorioamnionitis

preterm birth

fetal membrane inflammation

CD8 T cells

spatial transcriptomics