Influenza A virus infection during pregnancy may cause changes in immune function of offspring

Australia: Maternal influenza A virus (IAV) infection during pregnancy may affect the next generation by immune function in the gut, a recent study published in the American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology has shown. 

The influenza A virus, also known as the flu, is an infection centred in the respiratory system. Common symptoms of this type of flu include sore throat, coughing, sneezing, body aches and fever. The virus can cause serious complications in pregnancy and may sometimes be fatal. Although influenza A does not cross the placenta and does not directly infect the fetus, pregnant people who are infected with influenza A may have an increased risk of giving birth prematurely to babies with low birth weights. However, not much is known about the later-in-life health status of babies born to parents who had the flu during pregnancy.

In a new study, researchers studied a mouse model of influenza A during pregnancy. The research team looked at gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) samples of offspring born to flu-infected female mice. GALT is a significant component of mucosal immunity in the digestive tract and is representative of the body’s immune system as a whole. GALT is present in the small intestine, the appendix and the cecum, a small pouch located at the beginning of the large intestine.