Vertically transferred maternal immune cells promote neonatal immunity against early life infections.
Ina Annelies StelzerChristopher UrbschatSteven SchepanskiKristin ThieleIoanna TriviaiAgnes WieczorekMalik AlawiDenise OhnezeitJulian KottlauJiabin HuangNicole FischerHans-Willi MittrückerMaria Emilia SolanoBoris FehseAnke DiemertFelix R StahlPetra Clara ArckPublished in: Nature communications (2021)
During mammalian pregnancy, immune cells are vertically transferred from mother to fetus. The functional role of these maternal microchimeric cells (MMc) in the offspring is mostly unknown. Here we show a mouse model in which MMc numbers are either normal or low, which enables functional assessment of MMc. We report a functional role of MMc in promoting fetal immune development. MMc induces preferential differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells in fetal bone marrow towards monocytes within the myeloid compartment. Neonatal mice with higher numbers of MMc and monocytes show enhanced resilience against cytomegalovirus infection. Similarly, higher numbers of MMc in human cord blood are linked to a lower number of respiratory infections during the first year of life. Our data highlight the importance of MMc in promoting fetal immune development, potentially averting the threats caused by early life exposure to pathogens.
Keyphrases
- early life
- bone marrow
- stem cells
- cord blood
- mouse model
- dendritic cells
- pregnancy outcomes
- mesenchymal stem cells
- endothelial cells
- induced apoptosis
- electronic health record
- type diabetes
- peripheral blood
- immune response
- cell death
- insulin resistance
- skeletal muscle
- gram negative
- weight loss
- carbon nanotubes
- multidrug resistant
- antimicrobial resistance