科學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)嬰兒的基因可以影響母親對瘧疾的免疫應(yīng)答并影響到她們的妊娠結(jié)果。胎盤感染瘧疾寄生蟲——這被稱作“胎盤瘧疾”——導(dǎo)致撒哈拉以南非洲國家將近1/3的妊娠丟失,。盡管初產(chǎn)婦的胎盤瘧疾發(fā)病率最高,、嚴重瘧疾病例數(shù)量也最多，之后妊娠的胎盤瘧疾發(fā)病率和嚴重病例數(shù)量減少,?；加刑ケP瘧疾的初產(chǎn)婦的由胎盤細胞制造的一種蛋白質(zhì)（FLT1）的濃度升高，這提示這種蛋白在確定胎兒結(jié)果方面可能扮演著一個角色,。
Patrick Duffy及其同事研究了來自坦桑尼亞的母親和嬰兒的編碼這種蛋白質(zhì)的基因序列,。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)嬰兒的遺傳結(jié)構(gòu)影響了妊娠結(jié)果，這提示胎兒的基因影響了母親對胎盤瘧疾的免疫應(yīng)答,。嬰兒的基因型也與出生體重低和胎盤炎癥的數(shù)量有聯(lián)系,。這組作者說，這些發(fā)現(xiàn)表明不同版本的FLT1基因可以提供對胎盤瘧疾的防護,。他們提出,，接觸瘧疾可能影響母親-胎兒關(guān)系的演化,。相關(guān)論文發(fā)表在美國《國家科學(xué)院院刊》（PNAS）上,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
PNAS，doi: 10.1073/pnas.0803657105,，Atis Muehlenbachs,，Patrick E. Duffy
Natural selection of FLT1 alleles and their association with malaria resistance in utero
Placental malaria (PM) caused by Plasmodium falciparum contributes significantly to infant mortality in sub-Saharan Africa and is associated with pregnancy loss. We hypothesized that fetal genes that modify PM would be associated with fetal fitness. During PM, placental trophoblasts produce soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt1), also known as soluble VEGF receptor 1, an angiogenesis inhibitor associated with preeclampsia. Here we present a study examining the genotype of the fms-related tyrosine kinase 1 (FLT1) 3′ UTR in Tanzanian mother–infant pairs. First-time mothers suffer the most PM, and newborn FLT1 genotype distribution differed by birth order, with newborns of first-time mothers outside of Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) during peak PM season. Among first-time but not other mothers, maternal FLT1 genotype was associated with a history of prior pregnancy loss. During PM, newborn FLT1 genotype was associated with low birth weight and placental inflammatory gene expression. FLT1 genotype was also associated with Flt1 levels among study subjects and in vitro. Thus, FLT1 variants confer fetal fitness in utero and are associated with the maternal immune response during PM. This indicates that FLT1 is under natural selection in a malaria endemic area and that human exposure to malaria can influence the evolutionary genetics of the maternal-fetal relationship.
