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2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Other routes of HTLV-1 mother-to-child transmission except for breast feeding

Research Project

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Project/Area Number 18K16805
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Review Section Basic Section 56040:Obstetrics and gynecology-related
Research InstitutionNagasaki University

Principal Investigator

FUCHI NAOKI  長崎大学, 医歯薬学総合研究科(医学系), 客員研究員 (20727359)

Project Period (FY) 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
KeywordsHTLV-1 / 母子感染 / 経胎盤感染
Outline of Final Research Achievements

We investigated Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection in placental tissues of carrier pregnant women to clarify an alternative route of mother-to-child transmission of HTLV-1 other than breast milk. We found that the HTLV-1 infection was detected in the placental villous tissues of the fetus of nearly half the pregnant carriers, and that mother-to-child transmission was more frequent in pregnant women with HTLV-1-infectied placenta than those without HTLV-1-infected placenta, even when exclusively bottle-feeding. Furthermore, the molecular mechanism of HTLV-1 placental infection is that villous trophoblast cells, which compose as the blood-placental barrier separating maternal and fetal blood, are a target for HTLV-1 infection in the placenta. These findings demonstrate the transplacental transmission as a new route of mother-to-child transmission and indicate the need for new efforts to control mother-to-child transmission of HTLV-1.

Free Research Field

産婦人科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究ではこれまでほとんど未解明であったHTLV-1母子感染の母乳を介さない感染経路として妊娠中の経胎盤感染の可能性を示し、特に母児の血液を隔てる胎盤関門を構成する栄養膜細胞が母子感染の主要な役割を果たしていることを明らかにした。今回確立した胎盤組織中のHTLV-1を高感度に検出する手法(RNA scope)は、これまで不明であった妊娠中の母児感染成立に関わる新たな知見を提供し、これらの研究結果はHTLV-1の母子感染対策や関連疾患の予防法の発展・開発につながる重要な発見であると考えている。

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Published: 2023-01-30  

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