Abstract
This chapter will describe the use of infection with Listeria monocytogenes, a Gram-positive intracellular bacterium, to study immunological responses in the placenta. This bacterium is chosen because it has a predilection for replication in the placenta. As such, it is a significant pathogen for pregnant women, being a major cause of fetal mortality and morbidity if appropriate public health precautions are not observed. Furthermore, this bacterium has been a major tool for studying innate immune responses and their transition to an acquired one, characterized by a Th1-type response. Details are given for the culture and maintenance of bacteria stocks, infection of mice, and analysis of the resultant infection. Such studies have revealed a unique pattern of immune responses in the placenta that, through the methods described, should reveal the strategies that the placenta uses to eradicate pathogens while not rejecting allogenic fetuses.
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Barber, E.M., Guleria, I., Pollard, J.W. (2006). Infection With Listeria monocytogenes as a Probe for Placental Immunological Function. In: Soares, M.J., Hunt, J.S. (eds) Placenta and Trophoblast. Methods in Molecular Medicine™, vol 122. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-989-3:435
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-989-3:435
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-608-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-989-9
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