2
|
Farias-Jofre M, Romero R, Galaz J, Xu Y, Miller D, Garcia-Flores V, Arenas-Hernandez M, Winters AD, Berkowitz BA, Podolsky RH, Shen Y, Kanninen T, Panaitescu B, Glazier CR, Pique-Regi R, Theis KR, Gomez-Lopez N. Blockade of IL-6R prevents preterm birth and adverse neonatal outcomes. EBioMedicine 2023; 98:104865. [PMID: 37944273 PMCID: PMC10665693 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Preterm birth preceded by spontaneous preterm labour often occurs in the clinical setting of sterile intra-amniotic inflammation (SIAI), a condition that currently lacks treatment. METHODS Proteomic and scRNA-seq human data were analysed to evaluate the role of IL-6 and IL-1α in SIAI. A C57BL/6 murine model of SIAI-induced preterm birth was developed by the ultrasound-guided intra-amniotic injection of IL-1α. The blockade of IL-6R by using an aIL-6R was tested as prenatal treatment for preterm birth and adverse neonatal outcomes. QUEST-MRI evaluated brain oxidative stress in utero. Targeted transcriptomic profiling assessed maternal, foetal, and neonatal inflammation. Neonatal biometrics and neurodevelopment were tested. The neonatal gut immune-microbiome was evaluated using metagenomic sequencing and immunophenotyping. FINDINGS IL-6 plays a critical role in the human intra-amniotic inflammatory response, which is associated with elevated concentrations of the alarmin IL-1α. Intra-amniotic injection of IL-1α resembles SIAI, inducing preterm birth (7% vs. 50%, p = 0.03, Fisher's exact test) and neonatal mortality (18% vs. 56%, p = 0.02, Mann-Whitney U-test). QUEST-MRI revealed no foetal brain oxidative stress upon in utero IL-1α exposure (p > 0.05, mixed linear model). Prenatal treatment with aIL-6R abrogated IL-1α-induced preterm birth (50% vs. 7%, p = 0.03, Fisher's exact test) by dampening inflammatory processes associated with the common pathway of labour. Importantly, aIL-6R reduces neonatal mortality (56% vs. 22%, p = 0.03, Mann-Whitney U-test) by crossing from the mother to the amniotic cavity, dampening foetal organ inflammation and improving growth. Beneficial effects of prenatal IL-6R blockade carried over to neonatal life, improving survival, growth, neurodevelopment, and gut immune homeostasis. INTERPRETATION IL-6R blockade can serve as a strategy to treat SIAI, preventing preterm birth and adverse neonatal outcomes. FUNDING NICHD/NIH/DHHS, Contract HHSN275201300006C. WSU Perinatal Initiative in Maternal, Perinatal and Child Health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marcelo Farias-Jofre
- Pregnancy Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA; Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Roberto Romero
- Pregnancy Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
| | - Jose Galaz
- Pregnancy Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA; Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Yi Xu
- Pregnancy Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Derek Miller
- Pregnancy Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Valeria Garcia-Flores
- Pregnancy Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Marcia Arenas-Hernandez
- Pregnancy Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Andrew D Winters
- Pregnancy Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MO, USA
| | - Bruce A Berkowitz
- Department of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine; Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Robert H Podolsky
- Division of Biostatistics and Design Methodology, Center for Translational Research, Children's National Hospital, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | - Yimin Shen
- Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Tomi Kanninen
- Pregnancy Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Bogdan Panaitescu
- Pregnancy Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Catherine R Glazier
- UCD School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Roger Pique-Regi
- Pregnancy Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA; Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Kevin R Theis
- Pregnancy Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA; Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MO, USA
| | - Nardhy Gomez-Lopez
- Pregnancy Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MO, USA; Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA; Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| |
Collapse
|