System Maintenance Notice

Please note that maintenance work is scheduled between 4 AM and 5 AM - CET. During this time, you may experience reduced performance. Thanks for your patience.

Publications

Journal Article Review Epublish 25 citations

PubMed: 36590303 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1021721

SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) as a possible risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders.

Front Neurosci 16:1021721

Authors: Harikesh Dubey, Ravindra K Sharma, Suraj Krishnan, Rebecca Knickmeyer

Affiliations

  • Division of Neuroengineering, Institute for Quantitative Health Sciences and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States.
  • Department of Physiology and Functional Genomics, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, United States.
  • Jacobi Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, The Bronx, NY, United States.
  • Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States.

Abstract

Pregnant women constitute one of the most vulnerable populations to be affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, the cause of coronavirus disease 2019. SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy could negatively impact fetal brain development via multiple mechanisms. Accumulating evidence indicates that mother to fetus transmission of SARS-CoV-2 does occur, albeit rarely. When it does occur, there is a potential for neuroinvasion via immune cells, retrograde axonal transport, and olfactory bulb and lymphatic pathways. In the absence of maternal to fetal transmission, there is still the potential for negative neurodevelopmental outcomes as a consequence of disrupted placental development and function leading to preeclampsia, preterm birth, and intrauterine growth restriction. In addition, maternal immune activation may lead to hypomyelination, microglial activation, white matter damage, and reduced neurogenesis in the developing fetus. Moreover, maternal immune activation can disrupt the maternal or fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis leading to altered neurodevelopment. Finally, pro-inflammatory cytokines can potentially alter epigenetic processes within the developing brain. In this review, we address each of these potential mechanisms. We propose that SARS-CoV-2 could lead to neurodevelopmental disorders in a subset of pregnant women and that long-term studies are warranted.

MeSH

Coronavirus, Pregnancy, Sars-Cov-2, Brain, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Pre-Eclampsia, Covid-19, Risk Factors, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Related Coronavirus, Fetus, Infections, Neurodevelopment

Cited by