The scientist inside of me was trying to break out, so here's the article I wrote for the school science magazine this year. You could even count it as revision...
Traditionally, it is thought that genetic diseases are passed from parents to children as offspring receive half of each of their parent’s DNA. However, recent studies have shown that some diseases are transmitted from a child to their mother.
Traditionally, it is thought that genetic diseases are passed from parents to children as offspring receive half of each of their parent’s DNA. However, recent studies have shown that some diseases are transmitted from a child to their mother.
When a foetus is developing in the womb, cells are constantly
exchanged from the foetus to the mother via the placenta. For most women, these
cells are removed by the immune system shortly after the birth of the baby. In
a small proportion of women these cells stay in the body for decades and are
incorporated into tissues such as in the brain and skin, in a process called
microchimerism.
Mothers who had a low genetic risk of rheumatoid arthritis,
where joints become swollen and painful, but went onto develop the condition
were found to be likely to show microchimerism. There are two theories to
suggest how foetal cells cause arthritis in the mother…
2) Foetal cells that are stowed in the body attack the mother’s immune system, causing inflammation and joint pain.
For women with an autoimmune disease, where the body’s immune
system turns against itself, the development of arthritis from a microchimerism
was common. This is because the mother’s body is unable to protect itself from
the foetal cells carrying the disease inherited from the father.
Other diseases that microchimerism is thought to cause are:
·
Type 1 diabetes- where the pancreas doesn’t produce
any insulin so the blood sugar levels stay constantly high.
·
Scleroderma- a disease of the connective tissue
causing hardening of skin and blood vessels.
·
Primary biliary cirrhosis- a liver disease where bile
ducts become damaged and the build-up of bile in the liver causes scarring.
It is currently thought that only a small percentage of
genetic diseases are caused by microchimerism and that foetal cells have many
benefits, such as repairing damage in the mother’s heart during pregnancy. Lots
more research is needed to find out exactly what’s happening and why.
Have a beautiful day x
Have a beautiful day x