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Review

Cell Migration from Baby to Mother

Gavin Dawe, Xiao Wei Tan and Zhi-Cheng Xiao

volume 1 | issue 1

January/February/March 2007
Pages: 19 - 27

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Fetal cells migrate into the mother during pregnancy. Fetomaternal transfer probably occurs in all pregnancies and in humans the fetal cells can persist for decades. Microchimeric fetal cells are found in various maternal tissues and organs including blood, bone marrow, skin and liver. In mice, fetal cells have also been found in the brain. The fetal cells also appear to target sites of injury. Fetomaternal microchimerism may have important implications for the immune status of women, influencing autoimmunity and tolerance to transplants. Further understanding of the ability of fetal cells to cross both the placental and blood-brain barriers, to migrate into diverse tissues, and to differentiate into multiple cell types may also advance strategies for intravenous transplantation of stem cells for cytotherapeutic repair. Here we discuss hypotheses for how fetal cells cross the placental and blood-brain barriers and the persistence and distribution of fetal cells in the mother.

Authors

Gavin Dawe

Centre for Life Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Xiao Wei Tan

Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Singapore

Zhi-Cheng Xiao

Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Singapore; Singapore General Hospital; National University of Singapore

We now provide open access to journal articles published online for one year or more. This article may be downloaded at the following link: