Fetal microchimerism is when the fetal cells travel outside the fetus and embed in the mother’s body during pregnancy. Those fetal cells can stay with the mother for decades and affect her health.
The Chimera is a Greek mythological creature with parts taken from different animals.
The Benefits to the Baby
The fetus has a significant investment for the mother to stay healthy. What is suitable for the mother is good for the fetus.
The fetus contributes by sharing its cells that function like stem cells. Depending on the mother’s need, stem cells can develop into any cell. Once they enter her circulation, the fetal cells settle in different body parts.
The fetal cells help repair and maintain maternal tissues during pregnancy to ensure a healthy baby. One way to make the pregnancy successful is immune tolerance.
Since the fetus is a “foreign antigen,” the normal immune response should be to eliminate it. But that is not good during pregnancy.
Fetal microchimerism induces immune tolerance so the mother’s immune system will not attack the fetus. The immune tolerance assures that the current pregnancy and future offspring will be successful.
The modulation of the immune system during pregnancy is the reason why between 43 and 75% of pregnant mothers with rheumatoid arthritis have an improvement of all or some of their arthritic symptoms during pregnancy but relapse back into prepregnancy levels after giving birth.
Even after birth, the fetal cells affect the mothers. The fetal cells in the breast tissue induce milk production.
The fetal cells in the thyroid stimulate heat production from the mother’s body to keep herself and the baby warm.
In the mother’s brain, the fetal cells influence hormone production and the brain cells, promoting maternal bonding and emotional attachment with the newborn.
The Rewards for the Mother
Fetal cells can help when the mother has any inflammation and injury. They promote angiogenesis or the growth of new blood vessels. They also supply the needed materials like cytokeratin and collagen for faster wound healing.
There is evidence that fetal cells can differentiate into different cells like the endothelium or inner lining of the blood vessels, the heart, the smooth muscles of the internal organ, nerve cells, and brain cells.
The maternal cells can get old and need replacement someday. The fetal cells are on standby mode and ready to help by providing new replacement cells. The extra supply of stem cells may be why women live longer than men.
The fetal cells are also present in the immune system, like the T-cells, B-cells, and natural killer cells, to fight infections.
That is why even on this year’s Mother’s Day, when not all children can be with their mothers, it is good to know that a part of them is still within their mother’s body and ready to help when needed.
Mothers should know that wherever they are, the cells of their children will always be with them.
Happy Mother’s Day!
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Reference: Boddy, Amy & Fortunato, Angelo & Wilson Sayres, Melissa & Aktipis, C. (2015). Fetal microchimerism and maternal health: A review and evolutionary analysis of cooperation and conflict beyond the womb. BioEssays. 37. n/a-n/a. 10.1002/bies.201500059.
Image Credit: Neo-Hittite Chimera By Georges Jansoone (JoJan) – Self-photographed, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2119597
Fetal microchimerism By Asdfghjk – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5675998
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