Maternal microchimerism in human fetal tissues - 21/08/11

Doi : 10.1016/j.ajog.2007.09.047

Anna Maria Jonsson, MD ^a,^⁎ , Mehmet Uzunel, PhD ^b, Cecilia Götherström, PhD ^b, Nikos Papadogiannakis, MD, PhD ^c, Magnus Westgren, MD, PhD ^a
^a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Center for Fetal Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, and the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
^b Department of Clinical Immunology, the Center for Fetal Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, and the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
^c Department of Pathology, the Center for Fetal Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, and the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.

Reprints: Anna Maria Jonsson Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, 141086 Stockholm, Sweden

Résumé

Objective

The aim of the present study was to analyze the presence of maternal cells in human fetal tissues in the second trimester.

Study Design

Tissues from 11 second-trimester fetuses terminated because of social reasons or because of malformations and/or trisomy were investigated. By cell sorting and polymerase chain reaction amplification, we studied the presence of maternal CD3+, CD19+, CD34+, and CD45+ in different fetal tissues and in placenta.

Results

In the group of fetuses with normal karyotype and normal autopsy findings, 4 of 5 fetuses were positive for maternal microchimerism. In the group in which the fetuses were diagnosed with trisomy 21 and/or malformations, we found cells of maternal origin in 3 of 6 fetuses.

Conclusion

The results from this study indicate that maternal microchimerism is a common phenomenon in the second-trimester fetuses. Maternal cells of lymphoid and myeloid lineages and hematopoietic progenitors are widely distributed in the second-trimester fetuses.

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Key words : fetus, immunology, microchimerism, pregnancy

Plan

Materials and Methods

Fetuses

Cell separation and DNA extraction

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR typing

Detection of maternal alleles in the human fetus by PCR amplification

Sensitivity of PCR amplification

Results

Comment

Cite this article as: Jonsson AM, Uzunel M, Götherström C, et al. Maternal microchimerism in human fetal tissues. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2008;198:325.e1-325.e6.