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Messengers of maternal immune activation: Impact on the development and function of the offspring’s innate immune system
The fetal immune system can be affected by adverse maternal conditions during pregnancy, such as maternal infections. We aim to analyze how maternal immune activation from infections impacts fetal immune development and explore ways to reverse potential developmental issues.
Hypothesis
Team
Prof. Dr. med.
Petra Arck
Principal Investigator
Dr. med. Dr. rer. hum. biol.
Dimitra Zazara
Principal Investigator
Szymon Rawiak
PhD Student
Lisbeth Hasler
PhD Student
Christopher Urbschat
PhD Student
Project-related publications
Albrecht M, Arck PC. 2020. Vertically Transferred Immunity in Neonates: Mothers, Mechanisms and Mediators. Front Immunol. 11:555. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2020.00555.
Kinder JM, Stelzer IA, Arck PC, Way SS. 2017. Immunological implications of pregnancy-induced microchimerism. Nat Rev Immunol. 17(8):483–494. doi:10.1038/nri.2017.38.
Arck PC, Hecher K. 2013. Fetomaternal immune cross-talk and its consequences for maternal and offspring’s health. Nat Med. 19(5):548–556. doi:10.1038/nm.3160.
Graf I, Urbschat C, Arck PC. 2024. The “communicatome” of pregnancy: spotlight on cellular and extravesicular chimerism. EMBO Mol Med. 16(4):700–714. doi:10.1038/s44321-024-00045-x.
Stelzer IA, Urbschat C, Schepanski S, Thiele K, Triviai I, Wieczorek A, Alawi M, Ohnezeit D, Kottlau J, Huang J, et al. 2021. Vertically transferred maternal immune cells promote neonatal immunity against early life infections. Nature Communications. 12(1):4706. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-24719-z.
Schepanski S, Chini M, Sternemann V, Urbschat C, Thiele K, Sun T, Zhao Y, Poburski M, Woestemeier A, Thieme M-T, et al. 2022. Pregnancy-induced maternal microchimerism shapes neurodevelopment and behavior in mice. Nat Commun. 13(1):4571. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-32230-2.
Yüzen D, Urbschat C, Schepanski S, Thiele K, Arck PC, Mittrücker H. 2023. Pregnancy-induced transfer of pathogen-specific T cells from mother to fetus in mice. EMBO reports. 24(10):e56829. doi:10.15252/embr.202356829.
Engels G, Hierweger AM, Hoffmann J, Thieme R, Thiele S, Bertram S, Dreier C, Resa-Infante P, Jacobsen H, Thiele K, et al. 2017. Pregnancy-Related Immune Adaptation Promotes the Emergence of Highly Virulent H1N1 Influenza Virus Strains in Allogenically Pregnant Mice. Cell Host Microbe. 21(3):321–333. doi:10.1016/j.chom.2017.02.020.
Zazara DE, Wegmann M, Giannou AD, Hierweger AM, Alawi M, Thiele K, Huber S, Pincus M, Muntau AC, Solano ME, Arck PC. 2020. A prenatally disrupted airway epithelium orchestrates the fetal origin of asthma in mice. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 145(6):1641–1654. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2020.01.050.
Zazara DE, Giannou O, Schepanski S, Pagenkemper M, Giannou AD, Pincus M, Belios I, Bonn S, Muntau AC, Hecher K, et al. 2024. Fetal lung growth predicts the risk for early-life respiratory infections and childhood asthma. World J Pediatr [Internet]. [accessed 2024 Mar 30]. doi:10.1007/s12519-023-00782-y.