Maternal microchimerism: lessons learned from murine models

• Transplacental transfer and lactation can be sources of maternal microchimerism (MMc).
• MMc cells have been detected in blood, lymphoid, and non-lymphoid tissues.
• MMc cells can appear as leukocytes, somatic tissue-specific cells, and stem cells.
• MMc is involved in tolerogenesis, immune priming, and surveillance.
• MMc is proposed to act as a materno-fetal messenger.

The presence of maternal cells in the organs of the offspring is referred to as maternal microchimerism (MMc). MMc is physiologically acquired during pregnancy and lactation and can persist until adulthood. The detection of MMc in a variety of human diseases has raised interest in the short- and long-term functional consequences for the offspring. Owing to limited availability and access to human tissue, mouse models have become an essential tool in elucidating the functional role of MMc. This review compiles the detection techniques and experimental settings used in murine MMc research. It aims to summarize the potential mechanisms of migration of MMc, pre- and postnatal tissue distribution, phenotype and concatenated function, as well as factors modulating its occurrence. In this context, we propose MMc to be a materno-fetal messenger with the capacity to critically shape the development of the offspring's immunity.

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