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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 5, 2026

Assessment of Maternal Vascular Remodeling During Pregnancy in the Mouse Uterus
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Tissue microchimerism is increased during pregnancy: a human autopsy study.

Emilie C Rijnink1, Marlies E Penning2, Ron Wolterbeek3

  • 1Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands e.c.rijnink@lumc.nl.

Molecular Human Reproduction
|August 27, 2015
PubMed
Summary

Pregnancy significantly increases the presence of microchimerism, where cells from a fetus reside in the mother's organs. This study found higher cell migration into maternal lungs, spleen, liver, kidneys, and heart during and after pregnancy.

Keywords:
female-dominant autoimmune diseasesfetal cellsmaternal healthpregnancytissue microchimerism

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Area of Science:

  • Reproductive Biology
  • Immunology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Microchimerism involves cells with different genetic backgrounds within an individual.
  • Tissue microchimerism is often linked to pregnancy, autoimmune diseases, and transplantation outcomes.
  • Previous studies described chimeric cell distribution in pregnant mice.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the frequency and distribution of tissue microchimerism in human organs during and after pregnancy.
  • To compare microchimerism levels in pregnant women versus non-pregnant women.

Main Methods:

  • In situ hybridization of the Y chromosome was used on autopsy samples from pregnant women and a control group.
  • Organs analyzed included kidneys, livers, spleens, lungs, hearts, and brains.
  • Chimeric cell frequencies were quantified and compared between groups.

Main Results:

  • Tissue microchimerism was significantly more frequent in pregnant women's lungs, spleens, livers, kidneys, and hearts compared to non-pregnant women.
  • The lung showed the highest frequency of chimeric cells, followed by spleen, liver, kidney, brain, and heart.
  • Some chimeric cells were identified as CD3+ or CD34+ immune cells.

Conclusions:

  • Pregnancy leads to a notable increase and widespread distribution of microchimeric cells in maternal organs.
  • The observed distribution pattern in humans mirrors findings from mouse models.
  • This study provides crucial data on the physiological distribution of chimeric cells in pregnant women.