immune-dysregulation
Immune dysregulation refers to breakdowns or maladaptive changes in the molecular control of immune system processes, disrupting the balance between defense responses and self-regulation. In plants, analogous dysregulation of immune signaling pathways—such as those governing pattern-triggered and effector-triggered immunity—can lead to runaway defense responses, growth penalties, or increased susceptibility to pathogens. Understanding how plants maintain immune homeostasis is critical for developing crops with robust, precisely tuned resistance without the fitness costs associated with constitutively activated defenses.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-04-13
A study of 761 pregnant women found that COVID-19 rarely infects placental tissue in the first trimester, yet still triggers significant immune disruption at the maternal-fetal interface that may harm pregnancy outcomes.
SARS-CoV-2 was detected at low levels in placental tissues from 761 first-trimester pregnancies, with single-cell analysis showing no significant co-expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 entry receptors.
Maternal infection significantly elevated immune markers IL-31, IL-5, and GRO-α during acute infection, while increased IgG antibody levels were negatively correlated with TNF-β, suggesting a protective antibody effect.
Infection disrupted WNT and TGF-β signaling pathways in trophoblast cells and altered their differentiation trajectories, despite the virus being largely absent from placental tissue.