PubMed

• Enhanced placental antibody transfer efficiency with longer interval between maternal respiratory syncytial virus vaccination and birth November 8, 2024
  CONCLUSION: Vaccine administration earlier in the approved 32 to 36 week window (at least 5 weeks prior to delivery) results in the highest transplacental transfer of maternal antibodies to the neonate. These results should inform the counseling of pregnant individuals on optimal vaccination timing.
  Olyvia J Jasset
• Longer interval between maternal RSV vaccination and birth increases placental transfer efficiency July 29, 2024
  CONCLUSIONS: Vaccine administration earlier in the approved 32-36 week window (at least 5 weeks prior to delivery) results in the highest transplacental transfer of maternal antibodies to the neonate. These results should inform the counseling of pregnant individuals on optimal vaccination timing.
  Ms Olyvia J Jasset
• Vaginal microbes alter epithelial transcriptome and induce epigenomic modifications providing insight into mechanisms for susceptibility to adverse reproductive outcomes June 10, 2024
  The cervicovaginal microbiome is highly associated with women's health, with microbial communities dominated by Lactobacillus species considered optimal. Conversely, a lack of lactobacilli and a high abundance of strict and facultative anaerobes, including Gardnerella vaginalis, have been associated with adverse reproductive outcomes. However, how host-microbial interactions alter specific molecular pathways and impact cervical and vaginal […]
  Michal Elovitz
• Untangling Associations of Microbiomes of Pregnancy and Preterm Birth May 5, 2024
  This review illuminates the complex interplay between various maternal microbiomes and their influence on preterm birth (PTB), a driving and persistent contributor to neonatal morbidity and mortality. Here, we examine the dynamics of oral, gastrointestinal (gut), placental, and vaginal microbiomes, dissecting their roles in the pathogenesis of PTB. Importantly, focusing on the vaginal microbiome and […]
  Anna Maya Powell
• Extracellular vesicles from vaginal Gardnerella vaginalis and Mobiluncus mulieris contain distinct proteomic cargo and induce inflammatory pathways March 22, 2024
  Colonization of the vaginal space with bacteria such as Gardnerella vaginalis and Mobiluncus mulieris is associated with increased risk for STIs, bacterial vaginosis, and preterm birth, while Lactobacillus crispatus is associated with optimal reproductive health. Although host-microbe interactions are hypothesized to contribute to reproductive health and disease, the bacterial mediators that are critical to this […]
  Andrea Joseph
• Placental transfer dynamics and durability of maternal COVID-19 vaccine-induced antibodies in infants March 6, 2024
  Completion of a COVID-19 vaccination series during pregnancy effectively reduces COVID-19 hospitalization among infants less than 6 months of age. The dynamics of transplacental transfer of maternal vaccine-induced antibodies, and their persistence in infants at 2, 6, 9, and 12 months, have implications for new vaccine development and optimal timing of vaccine administration in pregnancy. […]
  Paola A Lopez
• Mending mentorship February 5, 2024
  No abstract
  Michal A Elovitz
• The role of neighborhood deprivation in the cervicovaginal microbiota January 21, 2024
  CONCLUSION: Neighborhood deprivation was associated with Lactobacillus-deficient cervicovaginal microbiota and may partially explain Black-White disparities in the cervicovaginal microbiota. Mechanistic studies to explore how environmental exposures modify the cervicovaginal microbiota are warranted to identify novel opportunities for future interventional strategies to prevent preterm birth. As the findings demonstrate a potential biological effect from neighborhood conditions, […]
  Heather H Burris
• Vaginal microbes alter epithelial transcriptomic and epigenomic modifications providing insight into the molecular mechanisms for susceptibility to adverse reproductive outcomes November 28, 2023
  The cervicovaginal microbiome is highly associated with women's health with microbial communities dominated by Lactobacillus spp. being considered optimal. Conversely, a lack of lactobacilli and a high abundance of strict and facultative anaerobes including Gardnerella vaginalis, have been associated with adverse reproductive outcomes. However, the molecular pathways modulated by microbe interactions with the cervicovaginal epithelia […]
  Michal Elovitz
• Regulatory T cell adoptive transfer alters uterine immune populations, increasing a novel MHC-II^low macrophage associated with healthy pregnancy October 30, 2023
  Intrauterine fetal demise (IUFD) - fetal loss after 20 weeks - affects 6 pregnancies per 1,000 live births in the United States, and the majority are of unknown etiology. Maternal systemic regulatory T cell (Treg) deficits have been implicated in fetal loss, but whether mucosal immune cells at the maternal-fetal interface contribute to fetal loss […]
  Emma L Lewis
• Cervicovaginal Microbial-Immune State and Group B Streptococcus Colonization in Pregnancy August 9, 2023
  CONCLUSION: Pregnant individuals with CV microbiota characterized by CST IV-A and CST II had significantly elevated risk of GBS RV colonization in the third trimester compared with those with CST I, and β-defensin-2 was an effect modifier of the association between CST IV-A and GBS RV+ status. Future research should investigate if manipulation of the […]
  Jennifer A McCoy
• Intrauterine colonization with Gardnerella vaginalis and Mobiluncus mulieris induces maternal inflammation but not preterm birth in a mouse model July 26, 2023
  CONCLUSIONS: Despite inducing an immune response, intrauterine infusion of live G. vaginalis or M. mulieris is not sufficient to induce sPTB in our mouse model. These results suggest that ascension of common vaginal microbes into the uterine cavity alone is not causative for sPTB.
  Andrea Joseph
• Impact of exposure to air pollution on cervicovaginal microbial communities June 24, 2023
  CONCLUSION: PM(2.5) was associated with CST IV, a risk factor for sPTB. Additionally, PM(2.5) exposure may partially explain racial differences in the prevalence of CST IV. Further research is warranted to discover how environmental exposures affect microbial composition and perpetuate racial health disparities.
  Inumidun H Oyebode
• The impact of postpartum social support on postpartum mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic June 2, 2023
  Social support is an influential component of postpartum recovery, adjustment, and bonding, which was disrupted by social distancing recommendations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports on changes in the availability of social support for postpartum women during the pandemic, investigates how those changes may have contributed to postpartum mental health, and probes how […]
  Lauren K White
• Questioning the fetal microbiome illustrates pitfalls of low-biomass microbial studies January 25, 2023
  Whether the human fetus and the prenatal intrauterine environment (amniotic fluid and placenta) are stably colonized by microbial communities in a healthy pregnancy remains a subject of debate. Here we evaluate recent studies that characterized microbial populations in human fetuses from the perspectives of reproductive biology, microbial ecology, bioinformatics, immunology, clinical microbiology and gnotobiology, and […]
  Katherine M Kennedy