Pathological observations on experimental cytomegalovirus infections in pregnancy

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Abstract
Cytomegalovirus injected i.m. or i.p. into mice on the 8th day of pregnancy resulted in a significant retardation in fetal growth and a reduced number of offspring surviving until near-term. Pathological changes consisted of inflammatory cell infiltration in the liver, heart, salivary glands and adrenal cortex of affected animals. Necrotic changes were also present in the adrenal cortex in most severely affected animals following i.p. injection of virus. I.p. infection led to a frank peritonitis and marked splenic necrosis with a degeneration and inflammation of visceral fatty tissue and lymphadenitis. Injection i.m. of virus did not produce a peritonitis, but the spleen was greatly enlarged with reaction centers and increased numbers of lymphocytes being identified at histology. As a consequence of cytomegalovirus infection in pregnant mice, fetal growth impairment and intrauterine death was seen. This was related to the severity of pathological changes in the mothers. In those animals dying or appearing sick at near-term, most fetuses were dead and resorbing. Since murine cytomegalovirus was not identified by inclusion body formation in fetal or placental tissues in this study and virus was not isolated from these tissues previously, the mechanism for the impaired fetal growth was probably of an indirect nature and attributable primarily to a severe generalized maternal illness.

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