Pichinde virus models intrauterine infection by hemorrhagic fever-causing arenaviruses
- 1University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Abstract
Arenavirus infection during pregnancy can cause severe maternal disease, congenital infection, and fetal demise. Many arenaviruses are endemic in economically disadvantaged areas and must be studied in high containment laboratories, which has limited our understanding of arenavirus pathogenesis in the placenta. Pichinde virus (PICV) is a nonpathogenic arenavirus that recapitulates many aspects of viral hemorrhagic fever in guinea pigs. Using a combination of experiments in human placental cells and guinea pigs, we characterized the tropism and impact of PICV infection during pregnancy. PICV replicated in human trophoblast stem cells (TSCs), TSC-derived trophoblasts, and explanted term placenta. When guinea pigs were infected at mid-gestation, PICV caused fetal demise. High infectious titers were recovered from placenta and decidua, but PICV was infrequently detected in fetal tissues or amniotic fluid. In situ hybridization confirmed that the placenta, decidua, and fetal membranes were all infected by the virus. Transcriptional profiling of PICV-infected human trophoblasts and guinea pig tissues revealed that infection upregulated canonical antiviral responses, which could contribute to placental dysfunction and pregnancy loss. Thus, PICV is safe and tractable model of zoonotic arenavirus infection during pregnancy with utility for preclinical therapeutic and vaccine development.
Related
- Phosphatidylserine receptors are critical for lethal infection by Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus
- Streptococcus equi subsp. equi infection causing temporomandibular septic arthritis treated by mandibular condylectomy in a horse
- Persistence of viral full-length genomic RNA and replication-associated RNA transcripts and proteins in sheep tissues following acute Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus infection
- Live Birth Outcomes Following subendometrial platelet rich plasma versus Intrauterine platelet rich plasma infusion in Women with Recurrent Implantation Failure: A Cohort Study
- TRPV4 antagonist efficacy in a post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus pig model
BibTeX
@misc{bierle2026pichinde,
title = {{Pichinde virus models intrauterine infection by hemorrhagic fever-causing arenaviruses}},
author = {C. J. Bierle and H. Murphy and J. S. Hatfield and Q. Huang and T. B. Rollman and P. Chauhan and B. Flannery and S. A. Wernimont and T. K. Morgan and M. D. Gearhart and Y. Liang and H. Ly},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.15.751927},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.15.751927v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Pichinde virus models intrauterine infection by hemorrhagic fever-causing arenaviruses
AU - C. J. Bierle
AU - H. Murphy
AU - J. S. Hatfield
AU - Q. Huang
AU - T. B. Rollman
AU - P. Chauhan
AU - B. Flannery
AU - S. A. Wernimont
AU - T. K. Morgan
AU - M. D. Gearhart
AU - Y. Liang
AU - H. Ly
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.15.751927
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.15.751927v1
AB - Arenavirus infection during pregnancy can cause severe maternal disease, congenital infection, and fetal demise. Many arenaviruses are endemic in economically disadvantaged areas and must be studied in high containment laboratories, which has limited our understanding of arenavirus pathogenesis in the placenta. Pichinde virus (PICV) is a nonpathogenic arenavirus that recapitulates many aspects of viral hemorrhagic fever in guinea pigs. Using a combination of experiments in human placental cells and guinea pigs, we characterized the tropism and impact of PICV infection during pregnancy. PICV replicated in human trophoblast stem cells (TSCs), TSC-derived trophoblasts, and explanted term placenta. When guinea pigs were infected at mid-gestation, PICV caused fetal demise. High infectious titers were recovered from placenta and decidua, but PICV was infrequently detected in fetal tissues or amniotic fluid. In situ hybridization confirmed that the placenta, decidua, and fetal membranes were all infected by the virus. Transcriptional profiling of PICV-infected human trophoblasts and guinea pig tissues revealed that infection upregulated canonical antiviral responses, which could contribute to placental dysfunction and pregnancy loss. Thus, PICV is safe and tractable model of zoonotic arenavirus infection during pregnancy with utility for preclinical therapeutic and vaccine development.
ER -