Gestational SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with placental expression of immune and trophoblast genes

  1. Corina Lesseur
  2. Rebecca H. Jessel
  3. Sophie Ohrn
  4. Yula Ma
  5. Qian Li
  6. Fumiko Dekio
  7. Rachel I. Brody
  8. James G. Wetmur
  9. Frederieke A.J. Gigase
  10. Molly Lieber
  11. Whitney Lieb
  12. Jezelle Lynch
  13. Omara Afzal
  14. Erona Ibroci
  15. Anna-Sophie Rommel
  16. Teresa Janevic
  17. Joanne Stone
  18. Elizabeth A. Howell
  19. Romeo R. Galang
  20. Siobhan M. Dolan
  21. Veerle Bergink
  22. Lotje D. De Witte
  23. Jia Chen

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Abstract

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  1. Version published to 10.1016/j.placenta.2022.06.017
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2022.02.22.22271359: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    EthicsConsent: All participants provided written informed consent per the institutional review board (IRB)-approved study protocol (IRB at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, protocol IRB-20-03352, April 15, 2020).
    IRB: All participants provided written informed consent per the institutional review board (IRB)-approved study protocol (IRB at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, protocol IRB-20-03352, April 15, 2020).
    Sex as a biological variableAdditionally, all 45 pregnant participants delivered before the first COVID-19 vaccine received Emergency Use Authorization by the U.S.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Antibodies
    SentencesResources
    Serological testing for IgG antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein (anti-S IgG) was performed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) developed at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai [46]
    anti-S IgG
    suggested: None
    We considered as possible confounders covariates that could influence placenta gene expression including infant sex, gestational age at birth, maternal age, and gestational age at SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody test.
    SARS-CoV-2 IgG
    suggested: None
    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Raw gene expression counts were imported from RCC files using the NanoStringNorm R package (1.2.1.1) [48].
    NanoStringNorm
    suggested: (NanoStringNorm, RRID:SCR_003382)
    Differential gene expression analysis by SARS-CoV-2 IgG status was performed using the Limma R package [49] that uses an empirical Bayes method to fit linear models with moderated standard errors for each gene (continuous outcome variable) and the study group (IgG positive versus negative) as the predictor variable.
    Limma
    suggested: (LIMMA, RRID:SCR_010943)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    We acknowledge that our study is not without limitations. The sample size is limited, and the number of placentas delivered from SARS-CoV-2 IgG positive participants is small. We do not have information on the precise timing of SARS-CoV-2 infection, disease severity, or newborn SARS-CoV-2 IgG levels. Given the exploratory nature of this study, we only measured expression of a small number of genes, and we did not account for multiple testing. Larger studies are needed to investigate the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the whole placental transcriptome. In summary, we found evidence of an association between SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy and placental expression of trophoblast and immune related genes which could potentially contribute to long-term health effects in the offspring. Future research should confirm the observed associations and assess potential long-term implications.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  3. Version published to 10.1101/2022.02.22.22271359v1 on medRxiv