Abstract
Congenital infections can have devastating short- and long-term impacts on the developing fetus. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is a zoonotic pathogen of concern that causes a severe congenital syndrome but is under-recognized and under-studied. Herein we review data on the natural animal reservoirs of LCMV, modes of transmission to humans, seroprevalence of LCMV worldwide in both pregnant and non-pregnant individuals, mechanisms of viral dissemination to placenta and fetus, and impact of climate change on viral transmission. We highlight opportunities to enhance awareness of congenital LCMV and provide recommendations for prevention and monitoring among at-risk pregnant people.
Impact
-
Key message of the article: LCMV is a zoonotic virus that poses a major threat to maternal-fetal health.
-
Adds to the existing literature: We comprehensively address transmission of LCMV from the natural reservoir to the pregnant individual, placenta, and fetus.
-
Impact: Available data call for enhanced patient and provider awareness about congenital LCMV during pregnancy, as well as a need for efforts to better define the seroprevalence and impact of congenital LCMV worldwide.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Pereira, L. Congenital viral infection: Traversing the uterine-placental interface. Annu. Rev. Virol. 5, 273–299 (2018).
Nahmias, A. J., Walls, K. W., Stewart, J. A., Herrmann, K. L. & Flynt, W. J. The ToRCH complex-perinatal infections associated with toxoplasma and rubella, cytomegol- and herpes simplex viruses. Pediatr. Res. 5, 405–406 (1971).
Money, D. et al. Guidelines for the management of herpes simplex virus in pregnancy. J. Obstet. Gynaecol. Can. 30, 514–519 (2008).
Panchaud, A., Stojanov, M., Ammerdorffer, A., Vouga, M. & Baud, D. Emerging role of Zika virus in adverse fetal and neonatal outcomes. Clin. Microbiol Rev. 29, 659–694 (2016).
Peyron, F. et al. Maternal and congenital toxoplasmosis: Diagnosis and treatment recommendations of a french multidisciplinary working group. Pathogens 8, 24 (2019).
Wang, Z., Tao, X., Liu, S., Zhao, Y. & Yang, X. An update review on listeria infection in pregnancy. Infect. Drug Resist. 14, 1967–1978 (2021).
Armstrong, C. & Lillie, R. D. Experimental lymphocytic choriomeningitis of monkeys and mice produced by a virus encountered in studies of the 1933 St. Louis encephalitis epidemic. Public Health Rep. (1896–1970) 49, 1019–1027 (1934).
Traub, E. A filterable virus recovered from white mice. Science 81, 298–299 (1935).
Meyer, H. M., Johnson, R. T., Crawford, I. P., Dascomb, H. E. & Rogers, N. G. Central nervous system syndromes of “viral” etiology A study of 713 cases. Am. J. Med. 29, 334–347 (1960).
Gregg, M. B. Recent outbreaks of lymphocytic choriomeningitis in the United States of America. Bull. World Heal. Organ. 52, 549–553 (1975).
Ackermann, R. et al. Syrische goldhamster als uberträger von lymphozytärer choriomeningitis. Dtsch. Medizinische Wochenschr. 97, 1725–1731 (1972).
Vilibic-Cavlek, T. et al. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis—emerging trends of a neglected virus: A narrative review. Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 6, 88 (2021).
Bonthius, D. J. et al. Congenital lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection: spectrum of disease. Ann. Neurol. 62, 347–355 (2007).
Bonthius, D. J. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus: A prenatal and postnatal threat. Adv. Pediatr. 56, 75–86 (2009).
Bonthius, D. J. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus: An under-recognized cause of neurologic disease in the fetus, child, and adult. Semin Pediatr. Neurol. 19, 89–95 (2012).
Bishop, D. H. L. & Auperin, D. D. Arenavirus gene structure and organization. in Arenaviruses vol. 133 5–17 (Springer, 1987).
Buchmeier, M. J. & Zajac, A. J. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. In Persistent Viral Infections. (eds Ahmed, R. & Chen, I.) pp. 575–605 (Wiley, New York, 1999).
Meyer, B. J., Torre, J. C. D. L. & Southern, P. J. Arenaviruses: genomic RNAs, transcription, and replication. Arenaviruses I, Epidemiol., Mol. Cell Biol. Arenaviruses 262, 139–157 (2002).
Rollin, P. E., Nichol, S. T., Zaki, S. & Ksiazek, T. G. Arenaviruses and Filoviruses. in Manual of Clinical Microbiology (eds. Jorgensen, J. H. et al.) 1669–1686 https://doi.org/10.1128/9781555817381.ch97 (ASM Press, 2015).
Childs, J. E., Klein, S. L. & Glass, G. E. A case study of two rodent-borne viruses: Not always the same old suspects. Front. Ecol. Evolut. 7, (2019).
Zhang, L. et al. Isolation and genomic characterization of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus in ticks from northeastern China. Transbound. Emerg. Dis. 65, 1733–1739 (2018).
Danes, L., Benda, R. & Fuchs, M. Experimental inhalation with the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (WE strain) of the monkeys of the Macacus cynomolgus and Macacus rhesus species. Bratisl. Lék. List. 2, 71–79 (1963).
Mims, C. A. Effect on the fetus of maternal infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM) virus. J. Infect. Dis. 120, 582–597 (1969).
Jamieson, D. J., Kourtis, A. P., Bell, M. & Rasmussen, S. A. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus: An emerging obstetric pathogen? Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 194, 1532–1536 (2006).
Ferenc, T., Vujica, M., Mrzljak, A. & Vilibic-Cavlek, T. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus: An under-recognized congenital teratogen. World J. Clin. Cases 10, 8922–8931 (2022).
Rajini, B., Zeng, J., Suvas, P. K., Dech, H. M. & Onami, T. M. both systemic and mucosal LCMV immunization generate robust viral-specific IgG in mucosal secretions, but elicit poor LCMV-specific IgA. Viral Immunol. 23, 377–384 (2010).
Yin, C. et al. Dissemination of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus from the gastric mucosa requires G protein-coupled signaling. J. Virol. 72, 8613–8619 (1998).
Childs, J. E., Glass, G. E., Korch, G. W., Ksiazek, T. G. & Leduc, J. W. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection and house mouse (mus musculus) distribution in urban baltimore. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 47, 27–34 (1992).
Riera, L. et al. Serological study of the lymphochoriomeningitis virus (LCMV) in an inner city of Argentina. J. Méd. Virol. 76, 285–289 (2005).
Ushijima, Y. et al. Identification of potential novel hosts and the risk of infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus in humans in Gabon, Central Africa. Int. J. Infect. Dis. 105, 452–459 (2021).
Knust, B. et al. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus in employees and mice at multipremises feeder-rodent operation, United States, 2012. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 20, 240–247 (2014).
Sarli, J., Lutermann, H., Alagaili, A. N., Mohammed, O. B. & Bennett, N. C. Seasonal reproduction in the Arabian spiny mouse, Acomys dimidiatus (Rodentia: Muridae) from Saudi Arabia: The role of rainfall and temperature. J. Arid Environ. 124, 352–359 (2016).
Dantas, M. R. T., Souza-Junior, J. B. F., Castelo, T. S., Lago, A. E. A. & Silva, A. R. Understanding how environmental factors influence reproductive aspects of wild myomorphic and hystricomorphic rodents. Anim. Reprod. 18, e20200213 (2021).
Sipari, S. et al. Climate change accelerates winter transmission of a zoonotic pathogen. Ambio 51, 508–517 (2022).
Evander, M. & Ahlm, C. Milder winters in northern Scandinavia may contribute to larger outbreaks of haemorrhagic fever virus. Glob. Heal. Action 2, 2020 (2009).
Tian, H. et al. Interannual cycles of Hantaan virus outbreaks at the human–animal interface in Central China are controlled by temperature and rainfall. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 114, 8041–8046 (2017).
Kallio, E. R. et al. Cyclic hantavirus epidemics in humans — Predicted by rodent host dynamics. Epidemics 1, 101–107 (2009).
Brown, L. M. & Laco, J. Rodent control and public health: A description of local rodent control programs. J. Environ. Heal. 78, 28–29 (2015).
Vilibic-Cavlek, T. et al. Prevalence and risk factors for lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection in continental croatian regions. Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 6, 67 (2021).
Childs, J. E. et al. Human-rodent contact and infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis and seoul viruses in an inner-city population. Am. J. Tropical Med. Hyg. 44, 117–121 (1991).
Stephensen, C. B. et al. Prevalence of serum antibodies against lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus in selected populations from two U.S. cities. J. Méd. Virol. 38, 27–31 (1992).
Knust, B. et al. Exposure to lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, New York, USA. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 17, 1324–1325 (2011).
DeLamballerie, X., Fulhorst, C. F. & Charrel, R. N. Prevalence of antibodies to lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus in blood donors in southeastern France. Transfusion 47, 172–173 (2007).
Marrie, T. J. & Saron, M. F. Seroprevalence of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus in Nova Scotia. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 58, 47–49 (1998).
Lledó, L., Gegúndez, M. I., Saz, J. V., Bahamontes, N. & Beltrán, M. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection in a province of Spain: Analysis of sera from the general population and wild rodents. J. Méd. Virol. 70, 273–275 (2003).
Alburkat, H. et al. Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus Infections and Seroprevalence, Southern Iraq. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 26, 3002–3006 (2020).
Fevola, C. et al. Seroprevalence of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus and Ljungan virus in Finnish patients with suspected neurological infections. J. Méd. Virol. 90, 429–435 (2018).
Juncker-Voss, M. et al. [Screening for antibodies against zoonotic agents among employees of the Zoological Garden of Vienna, Schönbrunn, Austria]. Berl. und Munch. tierarztliche Wochenschr. 117, 404–409 (2004).
Kallio-kokko, H. et al. Hantavirus and arenavirus antibody prevalence in rodents and humans in Trentino, Northern Italy. Epidemiol. Amp Infect. 134, 830–836 (2005).
Cuong, N. V. et al. Rodents and risk in the mekong delta of Vietnam: seroprevalence of selected zoonotic viruses in rodents and humans. Vector-Borne Zoonotic Dis. 15, 65–72 (2015).
Dobec, M., Dzelalija, B., Punda‐Polic, V. & Zoric, I. High prevalence of antibodies to lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus in a murine typhus endemic region in Croatia. J. Méd. Virol. 78, 1643–1647 (2006).
Lehmann‐Grube, F., Kallay, M., Ibscher, B. & Schwartz, R. Serologic diagnosis of human infections with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus: Comparative evaluation of seven methods. J. Méd. Virol. 4, 125–136 (1979).
Enninga, E. A. L. & Theiler, R. N. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection demonstrates higher replicative capacity and decreased antiviral response in the first-trimester placenta. J. Immunol. Res. 2019, 7375217 (2019).
Barton, L. L., Mets, M. B. & Beauchamp, C. L. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus: Emerging fetal teratogen. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 187, 1715–1716 (2002).
Constantin, C. M. et al. Normal establishment of virus-specific memory CD8 T cell pool following primary infection during pregnancy. J. Immunol. 179, 4383–4389 (2007).
León-Juárez, M. et al. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of viral infection in the human placenta. Pathog. Dis. 75, ftx093 (2017).
Beyer, W. R., Pöpplau, D., Garten, W., von Laer, D. & Lenz, O. Endoproteolytic processing of the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus glycoprotein by the subtilase SKI-1/S1P. J. Virol. 77, 2866–2872 (2003).
Spiropoulou, C. F., Kunz, S., Rollin, P. E., Campbell, K. P. & Oldstone, M. B. A. New World Arenavirus Clade C, but Not Clade A and B Viruses, Utilizes α-Dystroglycan as Its Major Receptor. J. Virol. 76, 5140–5146 (2002).
Cao, W. et al. Identification of α-dystroglycan as a receptor for lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus and lassa fever virus. Science 282, 2079–2081 (1998).
Borrow, P. & Oldstone, M. B. Characterization of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-binding protein(s): a candidate cellular receptor for the virus. J. Virol. 66, 7270–7281 (1992).
Simone, C. D., Zandonatti, M. A. & Buchmeier, M. J. Acidic pH triggers LCMV membrane fusion activity and conformational change in the glycoprotein spike. Virology 198, 455–465 (1994).
Eschli, B. et al. Identification of an N-terminal trimeric coiled-coil core within arenavirus glycoprotein 2 permits assignment to class I viral fusion proteins. J. Virol. 80, 5897–5907 (2006).
Burns, J. W. & Buchmeier, M. J. Protein-protein interactions in lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. Virology 183, 620–629 (1991).
Liu, J. et al. Genome-wide knockout screen identifies human sialomucin CD164 as an essential entry factor for lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. mBio 13, e00205–e00222 (2022).
Negi, V. D., Khurana, S. & Bonney, E. A. Interleukin-10 delays viral clearance in the placenta and uterus of mice with acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection during pregnancy. Front. Virol. 2, (2022).
Antoniou, A. N. & Powis, S. J. Pathogen evasion strategies for the major histocompatibility complex class I assembly pathway. Immunology 124, 1–12 (2008).
Ackermann, R. et al. Fetal infection of the baboon(Papio cynocephalus) with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. Arch. Virol. 60, 311–323 (1979).
Takagi, T., Ohsawa, M., Morita, C., Sato, H. & Ohsawa, K. Genomic analysis and pathogenic characteristics of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus strains isolated in Japan. Comp. Med. 62, 185–192 (2012).
Takagi, T. et al. Difference of two new LCMV strains in lethality and viral genome load in tissues. Exp. Anim. 66, 16–0097 (2017).
Buchmeier, M. J., Welsh, R. M., Dutko, F. J. & Oldstone, M. B. A. The virology and immunobiology of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection. Adv. Immunol. 30, 275–331 (1980).
Amman, B. R. et al. Pet rodents and fatal lymphocytic choriomeningitis in transplant patients. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 13, 719–725 (2007).
Emonet, S., Retornaz, K., Gonzalez, J. P., de Lamballerie, X. & Charrel, R. N. Mouse-to-human transmission of variant lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 13, 472–475 (2007).
Gustavo, P. et al. A new arenavirus in a cluster of fatal transplant-associated diseases. N. Engl. J. Med. 358, 991–998 (2008).
Bonthius, D. J., Nichols, B., Harb, H., Mahoney, J. & Karacay, B. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection of the developing brain: critical role of host age. Ann. Neurol. 62, 356–374 (2007).
Baines, K. J. et al. Antiviral inflammation during early pregnancy reduces placental and fetal growth trajectories. J. Immunol. 204, 694–706 (2020).
Woods, L., Perez-Garcia, V. & Hemberger, M. Regulation of Placental Development and Its Impact on Fetal Growth—New Insights From Mouse Models. Front. Endocrinol. 9, (2018).
Hemberger, M., Hanna, C. W. & Dean, W. Mechanisms of early placental development in mouse and humans. Nat. Rev. Genet. 21, 27–43 (2020).
Marsh, B. & Blelloch, R. Single nuclei RNA-seq of mouse placental labyrinth development. eLife 9, e60266 (2020).
Buchrieser, J. et al. IFITM proteins inhibit placental syncytiotrophoblast formation and promote fetal demise. Sci. (N. Y., N. Y.) 365, 176–180 (2019).
Yu, W., Hu, X. & Cao, B. Viral infections during pregnancy: The big challenge threatening maternal and fetal health. Matern Fetal Med. 4, 72–86 (2021).
Jaremek, A., Jeyarajah, M. J., Bhattad, G. J. & Renaud, S. J. Omics approaches to study formation and function of human placental syncytiotrophoblast. Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 9, (2021).
LaMarca, H. L., Nelson, A. B., Scandurro, A. B., Whitley, G. S. & Morris, C. A. Human cytomegalovirus-induced inhibition of cytotrophoblast invasion in a first trimester extravillous cytotrophoblast cell line. Placenta 27, 137–147 (2006).
Aldo, P. B., Mulla, M. J., Romero, R., Mor, G. & Abrahams, V. M. Viral ssRNA induces first trimester trophoblast apoptosis through an inflammatory mechanism. Am. J. Reprod. Immunol. 64, 27–37 (2010).
Campen, H. V. et al. Maternal influenza A virus infection restricts fetal and placental growth and adversely affects the fetal thymic transcriptome. Viruses 12, 1003 (2020).
Creisher, P. S. et al. Downregulation of transcriptional activity, increased inflammation, and damage in the placenta following in utero Zika Virus infection is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Front. Virol. 2, (2022).
Amirhessami-Aghili, N. et al. Human cytomegalovirus infection of human placental explants in culture: Histologic and immunohistochemical studies. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 156, 1365–1374 (1987).
Pencole, L. et al. Congenital lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus: A review. Prenat. Diagn. 42, 1059–1069 (2022).
Meritet, J. F. et al. A case of congenital lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection revealed by hydrops fetalis. Prenat. Diagn. 29, 626–627 (2009).
Delaine, M. et al. Microcephaly caused by lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 23, 1548–1550 (2017).
Tevaearai, F., Moser, L. & Pomar, L. Prenatal diagnosis of congenital lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection: A case report. Viruses 14, 2586 (2022).
Rawlinson, W. D. et al. Congenital cytomegalovirus infection in pregnancy and the neonate: Consensus recommendations for prevention, diagnosis, and therapy. Lancet Infect. Dis. 17, e177–e188 (2017).
Funding
This work was supported by NIH (NIAID) K08AI151265 and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute (to S.M.G).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
N.R.O., L.O., D.D.F., and S.M.G. conceptualized the article. N.R.O., L.O., and S.M.G. drafted the article. D.D.F. critically revised the article.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Olivieri, N.R., Othman, L., Flannery, D.D. et al. Transmission, seroprevalence, and maternal-fetal impact of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. Pediatr Res 95, 456–463 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-023-02859-w
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-023-02859-w
- Springer Nature America, Inc.
This article is cited by
-
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus injures the developing brain: effects and mechanisms
Pediatric Research (2024)
-
Trends in prenatal and pediatric viral infections, and the impact of climate change
Pediatric Research (2024)