Abnormal Development - Listeria

Embryology - 2 Dec 2023        Expand to Translate
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Educational Use Only - Embryology is an educational resource for learning concepts in embryological development, no clinical information is provided and content should not be used for any other purpose.

Introduction

Listeria monocytogenes bacteria (Image CDC)

The bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is the pathogenic form of the 7 listeria species. Infection is generally through ingestion of organisms in contaminated food. Maternal symptoms may be mild, fetal effects can range from insignificant through to major abnormalities. Maternal treatment relates to potential developmental effects. Pregnancy greatly increases the risk of listeriosis, with pregnant women about 60% of all cases (male and female) aged 10 to 40 years. Similar effects are seem in other mammalian species. See also the listeriosis review article and the Guinea pig placenta listeria model Generalized suppression of immunity during pregnancy is suggest to have a role in susceptibility, though recent results in a mouse model suggest that susceptibility can occur very early in a pregnancy and may relate to enteric carriage rate.

Some Recent Findings

Successful treatment of maternal listeria monocytogenes bacteremia in the first trimester of pregnancy "CASE REPORT: A 34-year-old woman at 11 gestational weeks was infected by Listeria monocytogenes with clinical symptoms of acute onset of a fever with subsequent headache and neck stiffness, and was treated with intravenous ampicillin at 2 g every 4 h for 3 weeks. A healthy, unaffected male baby was delivered at term. Histopathologic examination of the placenta did not reveal any chorioamnionitis, granulomas, microabscesses or vasculitis. The neonate developed well without any neurologic compromise at a six-week postnatal follow-up visit. CONCLUSION: A favorable outcome of maternal listeria infection in the first trimester may be anticipated. Besides, intravenous ampicillin with or without gentamicin should be a reasonable treatment option for maternal listeria infection in the first trimester." Listeria, Then and Now: A Call to Reevaluate Patient Teaching Based on Analysis of US Federal Databases, 1998-2016 "Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen capable of crossing the placental-fetal barrier; infection with the bacterium causes listeriosis. An exposed fetus may suffer blindness, neurological damage including meningitis, or even death. The adverse consequences of listeriosis place the infection on the federally reportable disease list. Primary prevention relies on women avoiding 6 categories of foods most likely to be contaminated with L monocytogenes, as indicated in guidelines developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adapted by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in 2014, and reaffirmed without changes by ACOG in 2016. This report contains a critical evaluation of United States listeriosis prevention guidelines."

More recent papers

This table allows an automated computer search of the external PubMed database using the listed "Search term" text link. This search now requires a manual link as the original PubMed extension has been disabled. The displayed list of references do not reflect any editorial selection of material based on content or relevance. References also appear on this list based upon the date of the actual page viewing. References listed on the rest of the content page and the associated discussion page (listed under the publication year sub-headings) do include some editorial selection based upon both relevance and availability. More? References | Discussion Page | Journal Searches | 2019 References | 2020 References Search term: Listeria Pregnancy

Listeria Infection

1. ingestion of contaminated food
2. colonization of the intestine
3. intestinal translocation
4. replication in the liver and spleen
5. either the resolution of infection or spread to other organs resulting in a systemic infection

Placental Infection

Model of L. monocytogenes mechanisms for breaching the maternal-fetal barrier (text below modified from original reference)

L. monocytogenes is subjected to multiple bottlenecks when infecting the placenta. Our data support extravillous cytotrophoblasts (EVT) as the primary portal of entry. Relatively few L. monocytogenes reach the maternal decidua, carried by phagocytes. These can infect extravillous cytotrophoblasts by cell-to-cell spread, or by lysing the leukocyte and subsequently infecting extravillous cytotrophoblasts via InlA-E-cadherin interactions. Extravillous cytotrophoblasts further winnow bacterial numbers by delaying the L. monocytogenes intracellular life cycle. If infection progresses, bacteria spread through subsyncytial cytotrophoblasts. The basement membrane underlying these cells presents a third barrier, which few bacteria cross to invade the fetal stroma (STR). On the other hand, L. monocytogenes in the blood contacts only the syncytiotrophoblast (SYN), which is highly resistant to both internalin-mediated infection and intercellular spread. However, it is possible that sites of syncytial damage provide access to subsyncytial cytotrophoblasts. In vivo, such sites are rapidly covered by fibrinoid clots that may present yet another physical barrier to infection.

Gram Stain

Bacterial staining procedure named after Hans Christian Gram (1853 - 1938). Generally divides bacteria into either:

• Gram-positive bacteria purple crystal violet stain is trapped by layer of peptidoglycan (forms outer layer of the cell).
• Gram-negative bacteria outer membrane prevents stain from reaching peptidoglycan layer in the periplasm, outer membrane then permeabilized and pink safranin counterstain is trapped by peptidoglycan layer.

Links: Histology Stains

Australian NHMRC Guidelines

NHMRC Guidelines "are intended to promote health, prevent harm, encourage best practice and reduce waste" have replaced the earlier historic 1988 NHMRC recommendations.

Links: Clinical Practice Guidelines - Pregnancy Care (2019) | PDF | Related Documents | Australian Clinical Practice Guidelines | NHMRC guidelines

Historic - NHMRC (1988) Recommendations

Historic Disclaimer - information about historic embryology pages  Pages where the terms "Historic" (textbooks, papers, people, recommendations) appear on this site, and sections within pages where this disclaimer appears, indicate that the content and scientific understanding are specific to the time of publication. This means that while some scientific descriptions are still accurate, the terminology and interpretation of the developmental mechanisms reflect the understanding at the time of original publication and those of the preceding periods, these terms, interpretations and recommendations may not reflect our current scientific understanding.     (More? Embryology History | Historic Embryology Papers) Neonates be assessed for follow-up care under the following conditions: Birthweight less than 1500g or gestational age less than 32 weeks Small-for-gestational-age neonates Perinatal asphyxia Apgar score less than 3 at 5 minutes clinical evidence of neurological dysfunction delay in onset of spontaneous respiration for more than 5 minutes and requiring mechanical ventilation Clinical evidence of central nervous system abnormalities ie., seizures, hypotonia Hyperbilirubinaemia of greater than 350umol/l in full term neonates Genetic, dysmorphic or metabolic disorders or a family history of serious genetic disorder Perinatal or serious neonatal infection including children of mothers who are HIV positive Psychosocial problems eg., infants of drug-addicted or alcoholic mothers.

References

Reviews

Lamont RF, Sobel J, Mazaki-Tovi S, Kusanovic JP, Vaisbuch E, Kim SK, Uldbjerg N & Romero R. (2011). Listeriosis in human pregnancy: a systematic review. J Perinat Med , 39, 227-36. PMID: 21517700 DOI.

Posfay-Barbe KM & Wald ER. (2009). Listeriosis. Semin Fetal Neonatal Med , 14, 228-33. PMID: 19231307 DOI.

Goldenberg RL & Thompson C. (2003). The infectious origins of stillbirth. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. , 189, 861-73. PMID: 14526331

Albritton WL, Cochi SL & Feeley JC. (1984). Overview of neonatal listeriosis. Clin Invest Med , 7, 311-4. PMID: 6398177

Articles

Jackson KA, Iwamoto M & Swerdlow D. (2010). Pregnancy-associated listeriosis. Epidemiol. Infect. , 138, 1503-9. PMID: 20158931 DOI.

Bakardjiev AI, Stacy BA, Fisher SJ & Portnoy DA. (2004). Listeriosis in the pregnant guinea pig: a model of vertical transmission. Infect. Immun. , 72, 489-97. PMID: 14688130

Topalovski M, Yang SS & Boonpasat Y. (1993). Listeriosis of the placenta: clinicopathologic study of seven cases. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. , 169, 616-20. PMID: 8372871

Storrs CN & Partridge JW. (1980). Listeria infections in the newborn. Arch. Dis. Child. , 55, 246. PMID: 7387172

Luft BJ & Remington JS. (1982). Effect of pregnancy on resistance to Listeria monocytogenes and Toxoplasma gondii infections in mice. Infect. Immun. , 38, 1164-71. PMID: 6818146

Scott JM & Henderson A. (1968). A case of listeriosis of the newborn. J. Med. Microbiol. , 1, 97-104. PMID: 4990031 DOI.

Textbooks

Medical Microbiology - Listeria | Listeria Search

Search Pubmed

Search PubMed: Congenital Listeria | Abnormal Embryology Listeria | Abnormal Development Listeria

External Links

External Links Notice - The dynamic nature of the internet may mean that some of these listed links may no longer function. If the link no longer works search the web with the link text or name. Links to any external commercial sites are provided for information purposes only and should never be considered an endorsement. UNSW Embryology is provided as an educational resource with no clinical information or commercial affiliation.

• NHMRC (Australia) - Prevention of Listeria (PDF)
• Medline Plus
• Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (UK) Infection and Pregnancy - study group recommendations (Jun 2001)

Glossary Links

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Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2023, December 2) Embryology Abnormal Development - Listeria. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Abnormal_Development_-_Listeria

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© Dr Mark Hill 2023, UNSW Embryology ISBN: 978 0 7334 2609 4 - UNSW CRICOS Provider Code No. 00098G