Spatial transcriptomics of the normal and cytomegalovirus-infected guinea pig placenta

Cytomegalovirus infection can disrupt placental development and function either by directly infecting placental cells or by eliciting a pathogenic immune response. Guinea pig cytomegalovirus (GPCMV) infection after mid-gestation causes transcriptional changes indicative of immune activation and focal infections at the base of the main placenta. In this study, we used spatial transcriptomics to quantify host and viral gene expression at the maternal-fetal interface at near single-cell resolution. Overall design: Time-mated guinea pigs were GPCMV- or mock-infected at 35 days gestation and samples were collected at 21 days post-infection. The 10x Visium Spatial Gene Expression system was used to measure transcript-abunance at the maternal-fetal interface. Samples were trimmed so similar regions of interest were present on each of the 12 capture areas used in this study. 5 GPCMV-infected and 6 mock-infected placentas were analyzed in this study.