MICROCHIMERISM - A NOVEL EXEMPLAR FOR HUMAN HEALTH AND DISEASE

Abstract

Maternal-offspring interactions are often viewed as solely cooperative, both parties having an interest in the other's survival and well-being. The placenta was previously thought to barricade the mother and fetus thus preventing maternal rejection of the fetus. It is now known that during pregnancy some cells traffic from mother to fetus and from fetus to mother. Surprisingly, some mother’s cells can be found in her adult offspring and some cells from the fetus can be found in the mother decades later.