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- Title
Vertically transferred maternal immune cells promote neonatal immunity against early life infections.
- Authors
Stelzer, Ina Annelies; Urbschat, Christopher; Schepanski, Steven; Thiele, Kristin; Triviai, Ioanna; Wieczorek, Agnes; Alawi, Malik; Ohnezeit, Denise; Kottlau, Julian; Huang, Jiabin; Fischer, Nicole; Mittrücker, Hans-Willi; Solano, Maria Emilia; Fehse, Boris; Diemert, Anke; Stahl, Felix R.; Arck, Petra Clara
- Abstract
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. Maternal immune cells seed into the foetus during mammalian pregnancy, yet the functional role of these cells is unclear. Here the authors show that maternal immune cells in foetal bone marrow stimulate immune development, subsequently reducing the risk or severity of infections in newborns.
- Subjects
HEMATOPOIETIC stem cells; BONE marrow cells; FETAL development; LABORATORY mice; CORD blood; RESPIRATORY infections; CYTOMEGALOVIRUS diseases; FETUS
- Publication
Nature Communications, 2021, Vol 12, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2041-1723
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s41467-021-24719-z