Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2026
Ex vivo Culture of Human Placental Explants for the Study of Viral Transmission Across the Maternal-Fetal Interface
Published on: December 30, 2025
Ljungan virus present in intrauterine fetal death diagnosed by both immunohistochemistry and PCR
Annika Samsioe1, Nikos Papadogiannakis, Thomas Hultman
1Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Section of Internal Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden. annika.samsioe@sodersjukhuset.se
Objectives:
Following up on prior evidence from animal and human studies of Ljungan virus (LV) in intrauterine fetal death (IUFD), we examine additional cases of IUFD using two standard assays of viral detection: immunohistochemistry (IHC) and real time RT-PCR.
Materials And Methods:
Frozen and formalin-fixed specimens from IUFD cases were tested for the presence of LV using real time RT-PCR and IHC, respectively. Formalin-fixed organs from terminated pregnancies diagnosed as trisomy 21 were used as controls in the IHC assay.
Results:
Presence of LV was demonstrated in all five IUFD cases by IHC and further confirmed in three of these cases by real time RT-PCR. Only one of 18 trisomy 21 controls was LV positive by IHC.
Conclusion:
The presence of LV in IUFD patients has been confirmed by two different assays.
