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Published on: March 23, 2018
Low prevalence of maternal microchimerism in peripheral blood of Japanese children with type 1 diabetes
K Ushijima1, M Okuno1, T Ayabe1
1Department of Molecular Endocrinology, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan.
Insights
Maternal microchimerism is less prevalent in Japanese children with type 1 diabetes compared to European populations. This finding suggests maternal microchimerism does not significantly influence type 1 diabetes development or its characteristics in Japanese children.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Genetics
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Maternal microchimerism, the presence of cells from offspring in the mother or vice versa, is a known phenomenon.
- Its role in autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes is under investigation.
- Ethnic variations in microchimerism prevalence and impact are suspected.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence and levels of maternal microchimerism in Japanese children with type 1 diabetes.
- To assess the association between maternal microchimerism and phenotypic variations in type 1 diabetes.
- To compare findings with data from white European populations.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to detect non-transmitted maternal human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles in 153 Japanese children with type 1 diabetes and 71 unaffected siblings.
- Prevalence and cell counts of maternal microchimerism were quantified.
- Phenotypic comparisons were made between microchimerism carriers and non-carriers.
Main Results:
- Maternal microchimerism was detected in 15% of autoantibody-positive T1D cases, 28% of autoantibody-negative T1D cases, and 16% of siblings.
- No significant differences in prevalence or levels were observed among the groups.
- Phenotypes did not differ between maternal microchimerism carriers and non-carriers.
Conclusions:
- Maternal microchimerism appears less common in Japanese children with type 1 diabetes than in white European children.
- Maternal microchimerism is unlikely to be a primary trigger or determinant of type 1 diabetes phenotype in this population.
- The biological significance of maternal microchimerism in type 1 diabetes may be ethnicity-dependent.
Aim:
To clarify the prevalence and degree of maternal microchimerism in Japanese children with type 1 diabetes, as well as its effect on phenotypic variation.
Methods:
We studied 153 Japanese children with type 1 diabetes, including 124 children positive for β-cell autoantibodies, and their 71 unaffected siblings. The number of circulating microchimeric cells per 105 host cells was estimated by the use of quantitative-polymerase chain reaction targeting non-transmitted maternal human leukocyte antigen alleles. The results were compared to previous data from white European people. Phenotypic comparison was performed between maternal microchimerism carriers and non-carriers with diabetes.
Results:
Maternal microchimerism was detected in 15% of children with autoantibody-positive type 1 diabetes, 28% of children with autoantibody-negative type 1 diabetes, and 16% of unaffected siblings. There were no differences in the prevalence or levels of maternal microchimerism among the three groups or between the children with type 1 diabetes and their unaffected siblings. Furthermore, maternal microchimerism carriers and non-carriers exhibited similar phenotypes.
Conclusions:
Maternal microchimerism appears to be less common in Japanese children with type 1 diabetes than in white European people. Our data indicate that maternal microchimerism is unlikely to be a major trigger or a phenotypic determinant of type 1 diabetes in Japanese children and that the biological significance of maternal microchimerism in type 1 diabetes may differ among ethnic groups.
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