The biological interaction between mother and fetus, known as “maternal-fetal dialogue”could become a key piece for fight autoimmune diseases like canceraccording to Chilean researcher Elard Koch, who recently shared his findings during a visit to Mexico.
Koch, a researcher at the MELISA Institute, argues that understanding how this dialogue takes place from the implantation of the embryo to the development of the fetus offers important insights into the functioning of the immune system and its potential to be manipulated in medical treatments.
From the first contact between the embryo and the mother’s bodyan extraordinary phenomenon occurs: the “natural killer” cells that would normally attack a foreign body are transformed into protectors, ensuring that the mother’s immune system does not destroy the embryo.
This process, described by Koch as “molecular dialogue”, is a constant exchange of signals between the embryo and the mother through proteins, extracellular vesicles and microRNAs. This complex exchange extends throughout the entire pregnancy and becomes an essential mechanism for the implantation of the embryo, the formation of the placenta and fetal development.
For more than a decade, Koch’s team has explored pregnancy with the goal of better understanding when and how this unique connection between mother and child begins. Using advanced techniques such as mass spectrometry, they have been able to identify proteins expressed in the DNA of the embryo, discovering that, from the moment of fertilization, the embryo begins to modify its environment to ensure its survival.
Mauricio Hernández, laboratory director at the MELISA Institute, explained that they have developed an in vivo research platform to analyze the proteome, that is, the set of proteins expressed during the pre-implantation window.
Using artificial intelligence and mass spectrometry, they have collected and stored biological samples from women throughout their entire fertile cycle, seeking to differentiate between cycles with and without the presence of an embryo. “We are already observing how the embryo attaches and detaches as if it were Velcro, as it moves through the fallopian tubes until it reaches its point of implantation in the endometrium,” said Hernández.
Repercussions beyond pregnancy: the impact on autoimmune diseases and cancer
The significance of these findings goes beyond understanding pregnancy. According to Koch and her team, these maternal-fetal interactions could have significant applications in other areas of health, such as the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer.
For example, the fact that the embryo, considered “foreign” to the mother’s body, is not rejected by the immune system, suggests that there are immune regulation mechanisms that could be replicated or stimulated in other medical contexts.
Koch stresses that by understanding how the embryo “teaches” the mother’s immune system to protect it, we could learn to “transform” the immune system to benefit the treatment of other pathologies. “Our goal is to better understand human life at its origin and how these immunological interactions can be applied to other contexts, such as cancer, where the immune system often needs to be regulated or modified,” he explained.
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