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Rogue cells may play a healing role
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This week– from the pancreas because a malfunction of the pancreas’s insulin-producing islet cells leads to diabetes. To see whether any maternal cells present there were interacting with islet cells they looked at autopsy samples from four young males, including one boy who had had type 1 diabetes. By labelling the X and Y chromosomes they were able to spot any female islet cells among the boys’ own. This showed that while all four samples contained islet cells derived from maternal cells, the sample from the boy with diabetes had the most (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0606169104). Nelson’s team found no evidence that the maternal cells were provoking an immune response. “If maternal cells were being attacked, I’d expect to see inflammatory cells around them,” she says. “I didn’t.” The fact that the maternal —He’ll always have something of hers— cells were apparently replicating, especially in the pancreatic tissue from the boy with of cells from a sample of about 150,000 from each individual had diabetes, suggests that they might be playing some positive been borrowed from the mother. Of people with type 1 diabetes, role. “It is likely the cells are helping to regenerate the tissue,” 51 per cent had maternal cells in says Nelson. their blood, as did 33 per cent of Anne Croy at Queen’s their siblings and 17 per cent of University in Kingston, Canada, the healthy controls. Individuals who also studies maternal with type 1 diabetes also tended autoimmune disease neonatal microchimerism, says she to have more of these cells – lupus. Maternal cells have also is intrigued by the idea that sometimes numbering in the been detected in cord blood hundreds per sample – whereas in maternal cells may have a samples and in healthy adults. beneficial role. siblings and controls there were It used to be thought that the One possible implication of typically fewer than 10. Nelson rogue maternal cells simply the finding is that maternal cells suspects that if larger blood appeared randomly, or that they could be isolated and used to samples were taken, evidence of might even trigger autoimmune maternal microchimerism might treat any of a mother’s children diseases (New Scientist, 24 April who develop diabetes. “There be found in us all. “It’s probably 1999, p 4), but Lee Nelson at the does seem to be some kind of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research universal,” she says. [immune] tolerance to the cells,” The fact that significantly Center in Seattle, Washington, says Nelson. However, this idea is more maternal cells were found now disputes that. in people with diabetes raises the not accepted by all. Carol Artlett Nelson and her colleagues at Drexel University College question of what role, if any, they looked at DNA from blood play in the disease. To investigate, of Medicine in Philadelphia, samples taken from 94 people Pennsylvania, calls it “pie in the the researchers studied tissue with type 1 diabetes and 54 of sky”. There’s no reason to think their healthy siblings, along with maternal cells will be better 24 healthy people plus all their “If a large enough sample were tolerated than any other foreign mothers. This allowed them to taken, it might show that cells, she says. Perhaps there are pinpoint genes the children did just so few cells that they don’t not share with their mothers, and everyone carries some of their mother’s cells with them” raise the alarm. ● also to detect what proportion
Rogue cells may play a healing role ALISON MOTLUK
A MOTHER’S work is never done, it seems. If a child develops diabetes, maternal cells that sneaked in while the child was in the womb may help to fight the disease. The borrowed cells don’t appear to trigger an immune reaction, so they could some day be used therapeutically, the researchers suggest. Instances in which cells from pregnant women have been incorporated into their offspring have been reported sporadically over the past two decades. The condition, which is known as maternal microchimerism, has been seen in children with severe combined immunodeficiency – a disorder characterised by little or no immune response – and the 8 | NewScientist | 27 January 2007
070127_N_p8_p9 8
www.newscientist.com
23/1/07 4:23:41 pm
This week– from the pancreas because a malfunction of the pancreas’s insulin-producing islet cells leads to diabetes. To see whether any maternal cells present there were interacting with islet cells they looked at autopsy samples from four young males, including one boy who had had type 1 diabetes. By labelling the X and Y chromosomes they were able to spot any female islet cells among the boys’ own. This showed that while all four samples contained islet cells derived from maternal cells, the sample from the boy with diabetes had the most (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0606169104). Nelson’s team found no evidence that the maternal cells were provoking an immune response. “If maternal cells were being attacked, I’d expect to see inflammatory cells around them,” she says. “I didn’t.” The fact that the maternal —He’ll always have something of hers— cells were apparently replicating, especially in the pancreatic tissue from the boy with of cells from a sample of about 150,000 from each individual had diabetes, suggests that they might be playing some positive been borrowed from the mother. Of people with type 1 diabetes, role. “It is likely the cells are helping to regenerate the tissue,” 51 per cent had maternal cells in says Nelson. their blood, as did 33 per cent of Anne Croy at Queen’s their siblings and 17 per cent of University in Kingston, Canada, the healthy controls. Individuals who also studies maternal with type 1 diabetes also tended autoimmune disease neonatal microchimerism, says she to have more of these cells – lupus. Maternal cells have also is intrigued by the idea that sometimes numbering in the been detected in cord blood hundreds per sample – whereas in maternal cells may have a samples and in healthy adults. beneficial role. siblings and controls there were It used to be thought that the One possible implication of typically fewer than 10. Nelson rogue maternal cells simply the finding is that maternal cells suspects that if larger blood appeared randomly, or that they could be isolated and used to samples were taken, evidence of might even trigger autoimmune maternal microchimerism might treat any of a mother’s children diseases (New Scientist, 24 April who develop diabetes. “There be found in us all. “It’s probably 1999, p 4), but Lee Nelson at the does seem to be some kind of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research universal,” she says. [immune] tolerance to the cells,” The fact that significantly Center in Seattle, Washington, says Nelson. However, this idea is more maternal cells were found now disputes that. in people with diabetes raises the not accepted by all. Carol Artlett Nelson and her colleagues at Drexel University College question of what role, if any, they looked at DNA from blood play in the disease. To investigate, of Medicine in Philadelphia, samples taken from 94 people Pennsylvania, calls it “pie in the the researchers studied tissue with type 1 diabetes and 54 of sky”. There’s no reason to think their healthy siblings, along with maternal cells will be better 24 healthy people plus all their “If a large enough sample were tolerated than any other foreign mothers. This allowed them to taken, it might show that cells, she says. Perhaps there are pinpoint genes the children did just so few cells that they don’t not share with their mothers, and everyone carries some of their mother’s cells with them” raise the alarm. ● also to detect what proportion
Rogue cells may play a healing role ALISON MOTLUK
A MOTHER’S work is never done, it seems. If a child develops diabetes, maternal cells that sneaked in while the child was in the womb may help to fight the disease. The borrowed cells don’t appear to trigger an immune reaction, so they could some day be used therapeutically, the researchers suggest. Instances in which cells from pregnant women have been incorporated into their offspring have been reported sporadically over the past two decades. The condition, which is known as maternal microchimerism, has been seen in children with severe combined immunodeficiency – a disorder characterised by little or no immune response – and the 8 | NewScientist | 27 January 2007
070127_N_p8_p9 8
www.newscientist.com
23/1/07 4:23:41 pm