Maternal inflammation regulates fetal emergency myelopoiesis. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38428422/)

These scientists were curious about how baby mice are affected by inflammation and infection before they are born. They wanted to understand how the baby mice's blood cells respond to inflammation and if there are any limitations in producing infection-fighting cells called neutrophils.

To do this, the scientists studied the fetal liver cells of baby mice. They discovered that these cells do not produce enough infection-fighting cells normally and do not activate a special program that helps produce more of these cells when needed in response to inflammation.

The scientists also found that the baby mice's cells can respond to inflammation signals in a lab setting, but when they are still inside their mother, they are held back by certain anti-inflammatory substances from the mother's body, especially one called interleukin-10 (IL-10).

When the scientists removed this anti-inflammatory substance from the mother mice, the baby mice's cells were able to activate the special program to produce more infection-fighting cells. However, this led to the unfortunate outcome of the baby mice not surviving.

This study shows that there is a balance in the mother's body between protecting the baby during pregnancy and allowing the baby's cells to respond effectively to infections. It helps us understand how the mother's body influences the baby's ability to fight infections before birth.

Collins A., Swann JW., Proven MA., Patel CM., Mitchell CA., Kasbekar M., Dellorusso PV., Passegue E. Maternal inflammation regulates fetal emergency myelopoiesis. Cell. 2024 Mar 14;187(6):1402-1421.e21. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.02.002. Epub 2024 Feb 29.