engleski

Infection of the newborn and fetus: murine model of pregnancy-associated listeriosis

The impact of L. monocytogenes infection on the maternal immune response as well as on the outcome of pregnancy was studied in a murine model of pregnancy-associated listeriosis. BALB/c mice infected intravenously with L.monocytogenes on day 15 of pregnancy showed impaired bacterial elimination from the liver. The impaired maternal immune response faciliated bacterial multiplication in the placenta and, ultimately, in the fetus. Placental colonization involved all or only some of the placentas in the same uterus. Despite marked pathohistological changes and numerous bacteria, the imflammatory reaction was confined to single granulocytes, but T cells and other cellular elements necessary for effective antilisterial defence were absent. The severity of placental infection predicted whether the fetus was aborted or resorbed. Listeriae were frequently detected in the tissues of the resorbing fetuses while only occasionally from the tissues of the aborted fetuses. In conclusion, our experimental model proved insufficient maternal immune response to L. monocytogenes during pregnancy. This stresses the necessity of a rapid therapeutic intervention to prevent bacterial multiplication in the placenta.

pregnancy; placenta; Listeria

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