WIKIMEDIA, U.S. NAVYA study comparing premature with full-term babies has revealed immunological differences in cord blood that suggest preterm labor may, at least in some instances, result from fetal intolerance of the mother. The work, published in Science Translational Medicine today (April 25), provides a novel shift in focus from the traditional view that the maternal immune system might be to blame.
“This is a really interesting paper because it takes a completely different and new view of the pathogenesis of preterm labor,” says immunologist and developmental biologist Adrian Erlebacher of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), who was not involved in the research. “The reason it’s novel is that it focuses on the possibility that the fetal immune system is contributing to the pathogenesis.”
Preterm birth—delivery prior to 37 weeks of pregnancy—is the leading cause of neonatal death in the developed world. Although there is a range of reasons for such early labor, infection and inflammation are thought to be the primary causes. One concept that has gained traction is that infection or inflammation might activate the mother’s immune system and so disturb the maternal ...
