# Spatiotemporal transcriptomics at the maternal-fetal interface in COVID placenta > **NIH NIH R21** · LOUISIANA STATE UNIV HSC SHREVEPORT · 2022 · $182,500 ## Abstract COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has emerged as the greatest threat to global health and significantly impact pregnant women worldwide. COVID-19 infection during pregnancy is associated with substantial risk of increases in maternal morbidity and mortality and neonatal complications, compared with their non-infected pregnant counterparts. However, vertical transmission of the virus is uncommon, which suggest that innate immune system must function at the maternal-fetal interface to shield the developing fetus from infection. Despite fast-tracked intensive research on many aspects of SARS- CoV-2, the impact of the viral infection in the placenta and the placental defense mechanism(s) are poorly explored. Placenta is the structural and immunological barrier of pathogen transmission. To explore the innate antiviral defense mechanism(s), in our preliminary study we specifically determined expression of interferon pathway-related molecules in placental tissues. Strikingly, we found distinct patterns of stimulator of interferon genes (STING), interferon regulator factor 3 (IRF3), and Type I IFN (such as IFNb) expression at the maternal- fetal interface of the placentas from women infected with COVID-19. STING is a sensor for viral infection. STING-IRF3 pathway signaling regulates Type I IFN production, and Type I IFNs are potent antiviral cytokines. We also noticed that Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) is upregulated in both syncytiotrophoblasts ( STs) and extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs) in placentas from patients with COVID-19 compared to those are not. TLR7, located on the X chromosome, is a sensor for single strand RNA (ssRNA) viruses. These findings are intriguing and indicate that an innate antiviral immune system is activated at the maternal-fetal interface in patients with COVID-19 during pregnancy. The objective of the study is to identify spatiotemporal transcriptomic signatures and networks of the innate antiviral immune system at the maternal-fetal interface. We will test the hypothesis an effective and robust innate antiviral immune system is activated at the maternal-fetal interface to prevent viral transmission and shield the fetus from infection, which will be tested in two specific aims. Aim 1 will identify spatiotemporal innate immunity gene profiles and networks in villous tissue that respond to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. Aim 2 will identify spatiotemporal innate immunity gene profiles and networks in fetal membrane and decidual tissue that respond to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. A state-of-the-art novel technique of 10x Genomics Visium Gene Expression assay in placental formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues combined with RNA-seq will be employed . Placentas from women with active COVID infection, recovered from COVID infection, and received COVID vaccination, etc. will be studied. This novel ideal approach will allow us to map the whole transcriptome with morphological cont... ## Key facts - **NIH application ID:** 10440706 - **Project number:** 1R21AI169392-01 - **Recipient organization:** LOUISIANA STATE UNIV HSC SHREVEPORT - **Principal Investigator:** YUPING WANG - **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.) - **Funding institute:** NIH - **Fiscal year:** 2022 - **Award amount:** $182,500 - **Award type:** 1 - **Project period:** 2022-05-06 → 2024-04-30 ## Primary source NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10440706 ## Citation > US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10440706, Spatiotemporal transcriptomics at the maternal-fetal interface in COVID placenta (1R21AI169392-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10440706. Licensed CC0. --- *[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*