0
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: not found

      Murine maternal cell microchimerism: analysis using real-time PCR and in vivo imaging.

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPMC
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          In humans, maternal cells are present in the affected tissues of children with inflammatory myopathy, scleroderma, and neonatal lupus. It is unknown if maternal cell microchimerism (MCM) contributes to the pathology of disease. We sought to understand the factors that affect MCM to serve as a baseline for future mechanistic studies. Using a mouse model, we bred female mice transgenic for the luciferase (Luc) reporter gene to wild-type (WT) males. The WT offspring were sacrificed at various postnatal ages. DNA was extracted from multiple organs, and real-time PCR amplification was used to quantify Luc transgene as a marker for maternally derived cells. Sensitivity was one to two transgenic cells per 100,000 WT cells. MCM was noted in 85% of mice and 45% of tissues assayed. The average quantity of MCM was 158 maternal cells per 100,000 neonatal cells. The organs displaying the highest frequency and quantity of MCM were heart and lung (P < 0.001). Postnatal age up to 21 days did not appear to affect levels of MCM (P = 0.47), whereas increasing parity may increase levels of MCM. The data show that MCM is a common occurrence in healthy newborn mice, that it is present in their major organs, and that there are organ specific differences. This may represent differential migration of maternal cells or varying receptivity of specific fetal organs to microchimerism. Pregnancy history appears to play a role in maternal cell trafficking. The role of MCM in pregnancy and disease pathogenesis remains to be elucidated.

          Related collections

          Author and article information

          Journal
          Biol. Reprod.
          Biology of reproduction
          0006-3363
          0006-3363
          May 2008
          : 78
          : 5
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Floating Hospital for Children, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
          Article
          biolreprod.107.063305 NIHMS105975
          10.1095/biolreprod.107.063305
          2677384
          18256332
          a3918e07-7560-4dc3-9d34-96dd8a572f02
          History

          Comments

          Comment on this article