Identifying Key Questions and Challenges in Microchimerism Biology
Microchimerism research has recently gained renewed attention despite known existence of these rare cells for decades. Fetal and maternal microchimeric-derived cells may have functional capabilities, and are increasingly associated with both beneficial and adverse health outcomes. Yet, establishing the role of microchimerism in health has been largely constrained methodologically and theoretically. The Microchimerism, Human Health, and Evolution Project address these challenges by calling on 29 leading microchimerism experts to put forth key research questions that can substantially advance the field. Seven major categories are identified: function and mechanism; microchimerism in interventions, treatment, and transplant; mapping "generational microchimerism"; evolution; microchimerism detection; appropriate experimental model systems; and definition of microchimerism. Identifying these questions - and continuing to find answers - will be crucial for advancing the knowledge of microchimerism in health and disease.
Authors
- Daniel Pitz Jacobsen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3229-6830)
- Rachel C. Quilang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2451-9718)
- Amy M. Boddy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7990-2415)
- Sing Sing Way (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8948-1952)
- Melissa A. Wilson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2614-0285)
- Heidi E. Fjeldstad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8538-3922)
- Athena Aktipis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7128-670X)
- Kristine J. Chua (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7683-4122)
- Katja Sallinger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1130-2314)
- Anders Ståhlberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4243-0191)
- Christopher Urbschat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8866-9133)
- Hyun‐Dong Chang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7341-4533)
- Kiarash Khosrotehrani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6406-4076)
- Thomas Kroneis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4761-9340)
- Maria Belland Olsen
- Petra Arck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2932-926X)
- Tiffany Pan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6646-8552)
- David Haig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7377-1605)
- Nathalie Lambert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5817-8686)
- Anne Cathrine Staff (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9247-5721)
- William Horsnell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7172-408X)
- Sami B. Kanaan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4608-0953)
- Frank A. Schildberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0797-1945)
- Michael Eikmans (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9648-4227)
- Mads Kamper‐Jørgensen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6393-5258)
- Henderson James Cleaves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4101-0654)
- Jelmer R. Prins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3984-2163)
- Diana W. Bianchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9270-5267)
- Whitney E. Harrington (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0121-978X)
- Ina A. Stelzer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9974-4661)
- Yi Ye (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0926-6107)
- J. Lee Nelson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3163-1940)
Institutions
- University of Notre Dame (US)
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- Oslo University Hospital (NO)
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (US)
- Center for Infectious Disease Research (US)
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine (US)
- Translational Research Institute (AU)
- Cape Town HVTN Immunology Laboratory / Hutchinson Centre Research Institute of South Africa (ZA)
- Infectious Disease Research Institute (US)
- University Medical Center Groningen (NL)
- Howard University (US)
- Inserm (FR)
- University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
- Universität Hamburg (DE)
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- University of Oslo (NO)
- University of Washington (US)
- Medical University of Graz (AT)
- Aix-Marseille Université (FR)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- University Hospital Bonn (DE)
- Leiden University Medical Center (NL)
- Sahlgrenska University Hospital (SE)
- Leibniz Association (DE)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- University College Copenhagen (DK)
- Fred Hutch Cancer Center (US)
- National Human Genome Research Institute (US)
- National Institute of Child Health (HU)
- German Rheumatism Research Centre (DE)
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (DE)
- Evolutionary Genomics (United States) (US)
- Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa (ZA)
- National Institute of Child Health (PK)
- Health and Human Development (2HD) Research Network (CM)
- Technische Universität Berlin (DE)
- Arizona State University (US)
- University of Gothenburg (SE)
- University of Cincinnati Medical Center (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Science
- Published
- 2025-10-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202514969
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Prenatal Screening and Diagnostics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.49
Funders
- John Templeton Foundation
- National Institutes of Health