❖ Over 400,000 preterm births occur annually in the US, the majority born to mothers with “chorioamnionitis” or intrauterine infection that occurs before or during labor.
❖ Chorioamnionitis is a complication of pregnancy associated with significant maternal, perinatal, and long-term adverse outcomes.
❖ Infection of the membranes surrounding the fetus: the “chorion” (outer membrane) and the “amnion” (fluid-filled sac) leads to preterm birth and/or serious infection in the mother and the baby.
❖ The mechanisms responsible for chorioamnionitis-induced preterm birth involves chorioamnionitis-induced development of the fetal inflammatory response syndrome (FIRS) defined by increased systemic inflammatory cytokine concentrations, inflammation of the umbilical cord, and fetal vasculitis.
❖ FIRS leads to poor cardiorespiratory, neurological, retinal, and renal outcomes.
❖ NAMPT expression in placentas from women with chorioamnionitis.
❖ No FDA-Approved Therapies for Chorioamnionitis
❖ IV delivery of a polyclonal eNAMPT-neutralizing antibody (pAb) in a preclinical pregnant mouse model of chorioamnionitis attenuates Fetal Inflammatory Response Syndrome and premature delivery, and preterm birth mortality
