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Rheumatologic diseases and antiphospholipid syndrome
Published in Hung N. Winn, Frank A. Chervenak, Roberto Romero, Clinical Maternal-Fetal Medicine Online, 2021
Thomas J. Santoro, Michiyo Tomita, Alfonse T. Masi
In normal pregnancies, syncytiotrophoblast microvilli, fetal cells, and cell-free fetal nucleic acids are found circulating in maternal blood and in even significantly higher levels in preeclamptic states (60,61). These microparticles are scavenged by antigen-presenting cells and are believed to influence cytokine production (59). Serum levels of fetal DNA correlated with arthritis improvement during pregnancy in one study (62). Microchimerism, that is, two genetically distinct and separately derived populations of cells, can occur during pregnancy from placental release of fetal cells into the maternal circulation. Incompatibility of HLA-class II antigens between mother and fetus is suspected to influence the maternal course of RA (63). This area of HLA antigens, maternal–fetal incompatibility, and microchimerism were recently reviewed (49,50).
The Etiopathogenesis of Autoimmunity
Published in Richard K. Burt, Alberto M. Marmont, Stem Cell Therapy for Autoimmune Disease, 2019
Howard Amital, Yehuda Shoenfeld
A chimera is an organism in which cells stem from two different origins. The concept of chimerism has fundamentally changed during the last decade, and what once was thought to be exceptional is acknowledged today to be common. During the normal progression of pregnancy, various cells bi-directionally migrate between maternal and fetal circulations. With the use of PCR-based techniques, and the fluorescence in-situ hybridisation (FISH), we can identify foreign DNA and islet cells of fetal origin within maternal tissues, this finding is commonly termed, microchimerism.91 Microchimerism with fetal cells is commonly detected in the peripheral blood of healthy parous women.92
Before the cut
Published in Gabriele Griffin, Malin Jordal, Body, Migration, Re/Constructive Surgeries, 2018
Margrit Shildrick, Marie-Louise Holm
Over the last couple of decades, the phenomenon of microchimerism has been mired in controversy, particularly in relation to matters of health, where its occurrence is seen as variously beneficial or pathological, with most clinicians choosing one side or the other. Furthermore, some researchers have associated microchimerism with transgender and intersex phenomena. It has long been clear that tetragametic chimerism in humans may produce ambiguous external genitalia (Benirschke et al., 1972; Strain et al., 1998), but research is largely limited to animal studies. To date there appears to be only one published paper (Hanley, 2011) that directly addresses the possibility that microchimerism underlies human transgenderism–and, in Hanley’s view, possibly homosexuality too. He narrowly attributes both to a discordance between the ‘sex’ of the gonadal cells and those of the central nervous system. As the evidence of chimerism multiplies, the danger is that if it is not established as universal and persistent, but is associated with and regarded as the basis of intersex and transgenderism, then those might be counted as biologically determined pathological conditions.
Reproductive history, as measured by parity, age at first birth and sex of offspring, and cancer-specific survival after a haematological malignancy
Published in Acta Oncologica, 2022
Anna L. V. Johansson, Paul W. Dickman, Sandra Eloranta, Magnus Björkholm
We found no strong associations between having boy offspring, and if anything results indicated that boy pregnancies may be associated with a poorer prognosis. This is in contrast to the hypothesis of a protective effect of male microchimerism in mothers with haematological malignancies [21–23]. The number of boy pregnancies is not an ideal proxy for male microchimerism, as it may be mixed with the overall effect of parity. We tried to circumvent this issue by comparing women of the same parity, and still found no effect. However, women with boy pregnancies are also a mixture of women with and without male microchimerism/allogeneic foetal cells, which may have diluted the effect. Male microchimerism has in one small, yet important, Danish study been associated with reduced cancer mortality in women [23]. The authors speculate that microchimerism is beneficial for cancer prognosis either via increased immune surveillance or a general enhancement in tissue repair. Such an effect would in theory be most prominent in patients with CML, where the graft vs. leukaemia effect after allogeneic stem cell transplantation is most pronounced [44]. However, no such effect was observed in our analyses, neither when assessing lymphoid vs. myeloid subtypes separately, nor for CML alone.
Fetal Cell Microchimerism; Normal and Immunocompromised Gestations in Mice
Published in Fetal and Pediatric Pathology, 2020
M. Sinan Beksac, Erdem Fadiloglu, Ayse Nur Cakar, Rumeysa Hekimoglu Gurbuz, Pergin Atilla, Ilyas Onbasilar, Kemal Beksac, Doruk Cevdi Katlan, Sezcan Mumusoglu, Pinar Calis, Meral Beksac
Fetal cell microchimerism is defined as the persistence of fetal cells in maternal organs and circulation without any apparent graft vs. host reaction or graft rejection. The main question is the nature of fetal microchimerism (under physiological conditions vs. at the presence of pathophysiological disorders) and the outcomes of this immune system related biological event. Thus, there are still several queries to be answered, such as the “type/nature” of fetal cells, timing of the presence of these cells in the maternal circulation, factors affecting the amount of these cells and associated fetal DNA, reaction of maternal innate and humeral immune systems, the mechanisms of cellular settlement at the maternal tissues, and short- and long-term advantages vs. disadvantages of microchimerism on women’s health [19].
Do Fetal Microchimeric Cells Influence Experimental Autoimmune Myocarditis?
Published in Fetal and Pediatric Pathology, 2022
Roberto Stefan de Almeida Ribeiro, Kelly Cristina Demarque, Israel Figueiredo Júnior, Isabeliza Maria do Espírito Santo Rangel Ferreira, Jessica do Prado Valeriano, Maurício Afonso Verícimo
The mechanism of action of fetal microchimerism is elusive for various reasons. First, the term ´fetal microchimerism´ characterizes a varied cell population at different stages of maturation that cross the placenta. Thus, these different cell types may be exerting different functions. Another point that needs to be considered is the number of cells of fetal origin that pass into the maternal organism, which can influence the course of the disease throughout a given study. Finally, although additional studies are needed, the data presented suggests the presence of fetal cells mitigates experimental autoimmune myocarditis, resulting in a milder inflammatory response.