Projects per year
Abstract
Around 40% of preterm births are attributed to ascending intrauterine infection, and Ureaplasma parvum (UP) is commonly isolated in these cases. Here we present a mouse model of ascending UP infection that resembles human disease, using vaginal inoculation combined with mild cervical injury induced by a common spermicide (Nonoxynol-9, as a surrogate for any mechanism of cervical epithelial damage). We measure bacterial load in a non-invasive manner using a luciferase-expressing UP strain, and post-mortem by qPCR and bacterial titration. Cervical exposure to Nonoxynol-9, 24 h pre-inoculation, facilitates intrauterine UP infection, upregulates pro-inflammatory cytokines, and increases preterm birth rates from 13 to 28%. Our results highlight the crucial role of the cervical epithelium as a barrier against ascending infection. In addition, we expect the mouse model will facilitate further research on the potential links between UP infection and preterm birth.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 199 |
Journal | Nature Communications |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 10 Jan 2020 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 10 Jan 2020 |
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Dive into the research topics of 'Cervical epithelial damage promotes Ureaplasma parvum ascending infection, intrauterine inflammation and preterm birth induction in mice'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 2 Finished
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Medicines in pregnancy: predicting harms and benefits of antenatal corticosteroids
1/06/18 → 31/05/23
Project: Research
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MRC Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh
Pollard, J.
12/09/16 → 11/09/22
Project: Research
Datasets
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Pavlidis et al_Nat Comms_Data source
Pavlidis, I. (Creator), Spiller, O. B. (Creator), Sammut demarco, G. (Creator), MacPherson, H. (Creator), Howie, S. (Creator), Norman, J. (Creator) & Stock, S. (Creator), Edinburgh DataShare, 5 Dec 2019
DOI: 10.7488/ds/2719
Dataset