Browsing by Author "Coyne, Carolyn"

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    Recommendations for future university pandemic responses: What the first COVID-19 shutdown taught us.
    (PLoS biology, 2020-08-27) Coyne, Carolyn; Ballard, Jimmy D; Blader, Ira J
    The SARS-CoV-2 epidemic challenged universities and other academic institutions to rapidly adapt to urgent and life-threatening situations. It forced most institutions to shut down nearly every aspect of their research and educational enterprises. In doing so, university leaders were thrust into unchartered waters and forced them to make unprecedented decisions. Successes and failures along the way highlighted how the autonomous nature of the American academic research enterprise and skillsets normally required of university leaders were ill-suited to mounting an emergency response. Here, as faculty from medical centers in the United States, we draw lessons from these experiences and apply them as we plan for the next possible COVID-19-induced shutdown as well as other large-scale pandemics and emergencies at universities in the United States and throughout the world.
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    The Role of Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection in Adverse Birth Outcomes: A Review of the Potential Mechanisms.
    (Viruses, 2020-12-24) Njue, Annete; Coyne, Carolyn; Margulis, Andrea V; Wang, Dai; Marks, Morgan A; Russell, Kevin; Das, Rituparna; Sinha, Anushua
    Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a major cause of nonhereditary adverse birth outcomes, including hearing and visual loss, neurologic deficits, and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), and may contribute to outcomes such as stillbirth and preterm delivery. However, the mechanisms by which CMV could cause adverse birth outcomes are not fully understood. This study reviewed proposed mechanisms underlying the role of CMV in stillbirth, preterm birth, and IUGR. Targeted literature searches were performed in PubMed and Embase to identify relevant articles. Several potential mechanisms were identified from in vitro studies in which laboratory-adapted and low-passage strains of CMV and various human placental models were used. Potential mechanisms identified included impairment of trophoblast progenitor stem cell differentiation and function, impairment of extravillous trophoblast invasiveness, dysregulation of Wnt signaling pathways in cytotrophoblasts, tumor necrosis factor-α mediated apoptosis of trophoblasts, CMV-induced cytokine changes in the placenta, inhibition of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase activity, and downregulation of trophoblast class I major histocompatibility complex molecules. Inherent challenges for the field remain in the identification of suitable in vivo animal models. Nonetheless, we believe that our review provides useful insights into the mechanisms by which CMV impairs placental development and function and how these changes could result in adverse birth outcomes.