Maternal immune activation and its effect on maternal microchimeric cells
Author Information
Author(s): Borges Alexandria, Irie Naoki
Primary Institution: Graduate School of Science, Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Hypothesis
Does maternal immune activation lead to differing maternal microchimeric cell frequencies in offspring?
Conclusion
Maternal microchimeric cell frequencies remain stable even under immune-activated conditions.
Supporting Evidence
- Maternal microchimerism varies in our bodies through unknown factors.
- Fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis showed no significant difference in maternal cell frequencies.
- Two littermates from an LPS-injected dam showed a high frequency of maternal cells.
Takeaway
Moms pass some of their cells to their babies, but even when the mom's immune system is activated, the number of these cells in the baby doesn't change.
Methodology
The study involved injecting pregnant mice with LPS to activate their immune system and then analyzing the offspring's organs for maternal cells using FACS.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the assumption of statistical independence among embryos from the same dam.
Limitations
The study did not monitor the level of immune response toward LPS, which may have affected the results.
Participant Demographics
Pregnant mice and their offspring.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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