Gage, Emily
(2013)
Aerosolized Influenza Infection During Late Gestation Pregnancy in the Ferrot Model.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Human pregnancy is known to predispose women to disproportionate morbidity and mortality from influenza infection. Limited investigation has been performed to understand the mechanism(s) of increased risk. Investigation of a pregnant ferret model was undertaken using aerosolized 2009 pH1N1 influenza. Pregnant ferrets demonstrated worse clinical disease and increased pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression levels, notably IL-6 and IL-10 in the lung and at the maternal/fetal interface but not the spleen. Influenza virus was detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR in many tissues including the placenta and kits but not the uterus of the non-pregnant ferrets, suggesting placental-fetal transmission. No obvious difference in lung pathology was observed between the pregnant and age-matched controls. Further model development is warranted to elucidate mechanisms that cause greater disease during pregnancy and effects of maternal disease on fetal outcomes. Ultimately, this model would further aid in investigating countermeasures against influenza during pregnancy. The public health significance of this study is that by establishing a pertinent influenza pregnant animal model, answers to translational questions about the effectiveness of therapeutics and when treatment would be most effective could be investigated, potentially lowering the amount of lives lost,hospitalization rates, and economic burden caused by this health disparity.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
27 June 2013 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
3 April 2013 |
| Approval Date: |
27 June 2013 |
| Submission Date: |
10 June 2013 |
| Access Restriction: |
1 year -- Restrict access to University of Pittsburgh for a period of 1 year. |
| Number of Pages: |
77 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Public Health > Infectious Diseases and Microbiology |
| Degree: |
MS - Master of Science |
| Thesis Type: |
Master's Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
pregnancy, ferret model , influenza |
| Date Deposited: |
27 Jun 2013 18:01 |
| Last Modified: |
19 Dec 2016 14:40 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/18940 |
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