# Regulation of early life immunity by maternal microchimeric cells

> **NIH NIH R21** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2022 · $206,600

## Abstract

PI/PD: Jain, Nitya Ph.D.
PROJECT SUMMARY
Early life immunity develops and matures over a period of time, leaving newborns susceptible to adverse
microbial encounters. Indeed, bacterial infections are a major cause of mortality in preterm and term newborns.
Protective maternal factors transferred to offspring are a crucial line of defense during this vulnerable period.
One arm of this protection arises from engrafted maternal microchimeric cells (MMCs) that are transferred into
the offspring during pregnancy. In humans, MMCs have the potential to alter offspring immune responses to
antigenic challenge including malarial and Epstein-Barr virus infection. Whether maternal immune states
arising from infection and immunization during pregnancy alters the nature of microchimerism and subsequent
offspring immune responses is unknown. Our proposal addresses this knowledge gap.
Accumulating evidence, most recently from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, indicate that many infectious diseases
affect children differently than adults. Understanding these differences, including how maternal factors
contribute to the functional plasticity of early life immune responses, will yield important insight into disease
pathogenesis and inform development of new therapeutics.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10426723
- **Project number:** 1R21AI168518-01
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Nitya Jain
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $206,600
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-02-03 → 2024-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10426723

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10426723, Regulation of early life immunity by maternal microchimeric cells (1R21AI168518-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10426723. Licensed CC0.

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