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Updated: Aug 20, 2026
Mapping Infant Immunity with Minimal Input: Integrative Single-Cell and Multiomic Profiling
Published on: April 3, 2026
Quantitative analysis of cellular fetal hemoglobin gamma chain messenger RNA (HbF-gamma mRNA) in maternal peripheral
Tomohiro Okuda1, Yoshiyuki Kinoshita, Takaya Tamura
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kawaramachi Hirokouji, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan. tomokichi@abeam.ocn.ne.jp
Objective:
Fetal cells cross the feto-maternal barrier and circulate in maternal peripheral blood; thus, this study aimed to show the relationship between clinical evidence in pregnancy and qualitative feto-maternal barrier changes.
Methods:
The expression of fetal hemoglobin gamma chain messenger RNA (HbF-gamma mRNA) was measured by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in maternal peripheral blood.
Results:
HbF-gamma mRNA was detected in all pregnant women after 5 weeks of gestation. In normal pregnancy, there were two peaks at 10 and 40 weeks, and a significant increase 4 weeks prior to the onset of labor. In intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), preterm delivery and placenta previa, the HbF-gamma mRNA expression was significantly higher than in normal pregnancies.
Conclusion:
The expression of HbF-gamma mRNA relative to that of beta-actin mRNA is thought to reflect the real-time leakage of fetal cells into maternal blood.
