title: Immune profiling of BALB/C and C57BL/6 mice reveals a correlation between Ureaplasma parvum-Induced fetal inflammatory response syndrome-like pathology and increased placental expression of TLR2 and CD14.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Both BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice are susceptible to intrauterine infection with Ureaplasma parvum, but only protypical TH2/M2 BALB/c mice develop severe chorioamnionitis, fetal infection, and fetal inflammatory response syndrome-like (FIRS) pathology.
  
  
  METHODS
  Microscopy, gene expression analysis, and ELISA were used to identify placental innate immune responses relevant to macrophage polarity, severe chorioamnionitis, and fetal infection.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both mouse strains exhibited a pro-M2 cytokine profile at the maternal/fetal interface. In BALB/c mice, expression of CD14 and TLRs 1, 2, 6 was increased in infected placentas; TLR2 and CD14 were localized to neutrophils. Increased TLR2/CD14 was also observed in BALB/c syncytiotrophoblasts in tissues with pathological evidence of FIRS. In contrast, expression in C57BL/6 placentas was either unchanged or down-regulated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings show a link between increased syncytiotrophoblast expression of CD14/TLR2 and FIRS-like pathology in BALB/c mice. Functional studies are required to determine if CD14 is contributing to fetal morbidity during chorioamnionitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology and the D. H. Barron Reproductive and Perinatal Biology Research Program, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Ayman B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Allam
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: von Chamier
authors.forename: Mary B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Leticia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reyes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002821:Chorioamnionitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology; D018950:Lipopolysaccharide Receptors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology*; D010920:Placenta / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D013577:Syndrome; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014327:Trophoblasts / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D015854:Up-Regulation; D014509:Ureaplasma / Q000276:immunology*; D016869:Ureaplasma Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D018950:Lipopolysaccharide Receptors; C493486:Tlr2 protein, mouse; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2
keywords: Chorioamnionitis; Toll-like receptor; intrauterine infection; murine model