The recent discovery of multilineage donor leukocyte microchimerism in allograft recipients up to three decades after organ transplantation implies the migration and survival of donor stem cells within the host. It has been postulated that in chimeric graft recipients, reciprocal modulation of immune responsiveness between donor and recipient leukocytes may lead, eventually, to the induction of...

OBJECTIVE Fetal microchimerism has been hypothesized as a potential pathogenic mechanism for systemic sclerosis (SSc). This hypothesis was based on the clinical similarities between SSc and graft-vs-host disease and the identification of microchimeric cells in affected SSc tissues. The aim of this study was to compare the quantity of microchimeric cells in clinically affected and non-affected s...

Genetic factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) and it has been calculated that 80% of the susceptibility to develop Graves' disease is attributable to genes. The concordance rate for AITD among monozygotic twins is, however, well below 1 and environmental factors thus must play an important role. We have attempted to carry out a comprehensive rev...

Non-inherited maternal antigens (NIMA) are those protein products derived from polymorphic genes that the mothers express but not the offspring. During normal human pregnancy, a bidirectional regulation occurs in such a way that the maternal immune system tolerates the inherited paternal antigens (IPA) expressed by the fetus and the developing fetal immune system tolerates NIMA. The process by ...

We discuss the probable presence of tuberculosis in non-adults a medieval rural community northern Italy with biocultural perspective. Before birth, mother and child have closely interconnected relationship, as suggested by role microchimerism on maternal health. To better understand maternal–child health related stress factors, paleopathology has investigated potential this relationship recent...

One line of thought in organ transplantation feels that immunosuppressive drugs can lead to tolerance induction by allowing a previously unrecognized common mechanism of cell migration and microchimerism to occur, persist, and in some cases, become drug independent. It has been recognized that there is a spectrum of susceptibility of different organs to cellular rejection and that the variable ...

Fetal cell microchimerism (FCM) is the persistence of fetal cells in the maternal circulation and organs following pregnancy. Proposed hypotheses about the function of fetal cells in the pathogenesis of maternal cancer include promotion of tumorigenesis, protection by providing immunosurveillance, and participation in tissue repair. To date, studies of FCM and cancer have been primarily descrip...

The presence of microchimeric cells is known for >100 years and well documented since decades. Earlier, microchimeric cells were mainly used for cell-based non-invasive prenatal diagnostics during early pregnancy. Microchimeric cells are also present beyond delivery and are associated to various autoimmune diseases, tissue repair, cancer and immune tolerance. All these findings were based on lo...