美国国立卫生研究院Yasmine Belkaid课题组发现，产前母体感染可促进后代的组织特异性免疫和炎症反应。该研究于2021年8月27日发表于国际一流学术期刊《科学》。

研究人员表明，在怀孕期间，母体限制性感染可以对后代的免疫力产生永久性和组织特异性影响。从机制上讲，母体因感染而产生的白细胞介素-6可以直接对胎儿的肠道上皮干细胞产生表观遗传变化，导致对肠道免疫稳态的长期影响。因此，以前被感染母体的后代对肠道感染的保护性免疫力增强，并在结肠炎的情况下炎症增加。因此，母体感染可以被胎儿利用来促进长期的特定组织的健康，这种现象可能是以易患炎症性疾病为代价的。

据悉，免疫系统在面对微生物暴露时已经进化。在不同的发育阶段所经历的母体感染如何塑造后代的免疫系统仍不甚明了。

附：英文原文

Title: Prenatal maternal infection promotes tissue-specific immunity and inflammation in offspring

Author: Ai Ing Lim, Taryn McFadden, Verena M. Link, Seong-Ji Han, Rose-Marie Karlsson, Apollo Stacy, Taylor K. Farley, Djalma S. Lima-Junior, Oliver J. Harrison, Jigar V. Desai, Michail S. Lionakis, Han-Yu Shih, Heather A. Cameron, Yasmine Belkaid

Issue&Volume: 2021/08/27

Abstract: The immune system has evolved in the face of microbial exposure. How maternal infection experienced at distinct developmental stages shapes the offspring immune system remains poorly understood. Here, we show that during pregnancy, maternally restricted infection can have permanent and tissue-specific impacts on offspring immunity. Mechanistically, maternal interleukin-6 produced in response to infection can directly impose epigenetic changes on fetal intestinal epithelial stem cells, leading to long-lasting impacts on intestinal immune homeostasis. As a result, offspring of previously infected dams develop enhanced protective immunity to gut infection and increased inflammation in the context of colitis. Thus, maternal infection can be coopted by the fetus to promote long-term, tissue-specific fitness, a phenomenon that may come at the cost of predisposition to inflammatory disorders.

DOI: 10.1126/science.abf3002

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/373/6558/eabf3002