Pregnancy Induces an Immunological Memory Characterized by Maternal Immune Alterations Through Specific Genes Methylation

Frontiers in Immunology

Jiahui Ding¹  Anthony Maxwell¹  Gil Mor¹  Li Wu²  Si Chen³  Aihua Liao⁴  Hong Liu⁴  Sijia Zhao⁴  Liling Wang⁴  Xiaobo Huang⁴  Zhinan Yin⁵  Hengwen Yang⁵  Liping Liu⁶ 

[1] C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, United States;Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Anhui Province Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China;Hubei Province Engineering Research Center of Healthy Food, School of Biology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan, China;Institute of Reproductive Health, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China;The Biomedical Translational Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Science, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China;Wuhan Women and Children Medical Care Center, Wuhan, China;Zhuhai Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhuhai People’s Hospital Affiliated With Jinan University, Jinan University, Zhuhai, China;

关键词: pregnancy;    immunological memory;    epigenetic;    preeclampsia;    immune cells;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fimmu.2021.686676

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

During pregnancy, the maternal immune system undergoes major adaptive modifications that are necessary for the acceptance and protection of the fetus. It has been postulated that these modifications are temporary and limited to the time of pregnancy. Growing evidence suggests that pregnancy has a long-term impact on maternal health, especially among women with pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia (PE). In addition, the presence of multiple immunological-associated changes in women that remain long after delivery has been reported. To explain these long-term modifications, we hypothesized that pregnancy induces long-term immunological memory with effects on maternal well-being. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated the immunological phenotype of circulating immune cells in women at least 1 year after a normal pregnancy and after pregnancy complicated by PE. Using multiparameter flow cytometry (FCM) and whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS), we demonstrate that pregnancy has a long-term effect on the maternal immune cell populations and that this effect differs between normal pregnancy and pregnancy complicated by PE; furthermore, these modifications are due to changes in the maternal methylation status of genes that are associated with T cell and NK cell differentiation and function. We propose the existence of an “immunological memory of pregnancy (IMOP)” as an evolutionary advantage for the success of future pregnancies and the proper adaptation to the microchimeric status established during pregnancy. Our findings demonstrate that the type of immune cell populations modified during pregnancy may have an impact on subsequent pregnancy and future maternal health.

【 授权许可】

Unknown