health
Pregnancy and Birth
Researchers have cracked a forgotten organ that plays a very important role in pregnancy
The thymus gland that hides deep inside the chest undergoes a critical change during pregnancy and researchers have finally been able to understand what its purpose is, and also - how does this relate to the prevention of pregnancy loss and diabetes?
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Pregnancy
Gestational diabetes
abortion
Miscarriage
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Monday, 04 January 2021, 00:03
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This small gland causes the mother's body not to reject the fetus.
Doctor examines pregnant woman (Illustration: shutterstock)
Scientists at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have published an article describing for the first time the role of the thymus organ - a forgotten organ that receives almost no attention or attention - during normal pregnancies.
The thymus gland is a small gland connected to the immune system and it is hidden in a hidden place under the sternum.
The study, published in the journal Nature, highlights the importance of the thymus gland in regulating immunity and metabolism, a role that affects the prevention of miscarriages and gestational diabetes.
The question of the adaptation of the immune system to the unique state of pregnancy that requires protection of both the mother and the fetus has long intrigued researchers and doctors.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia decided to investigate this question using laboratory mouse models.
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The researchers found that female sex hormones that circulate in the blood during pregnancy have an important effect on the thymus gland - they teach this organ to produce special cells called 'regulated T cells' (also called Tregs).
These cells help regulate some of the physiological changes that occur during pregnancy and are actually necessary to ensure a healthy and normal course of pregnancy.
The study further revealed that in the thymus gland there are unique receptors called RANK receptors whose key role is in monitoring the production process of the regulated T cells.
Hides deep in the chest and changes massively during pregnancy - why?
Thymus gland (illustration: shuttersock)
"We knew there Slkoltni RANK expression in the thymus but the role they play pregnancies was not known yet," said Dr. Joseph Fningr, the senior investigator who signed the article, press release.
As part of their study the researchers conducted laboratory mouse genetic changes that led to a significant reduction In the number of RANK receptors in their thymus gland. ”The absence of RANK receptors prevented the production of regulated T cells in the thymus gland during pregnancy.
This has led to a lower amount of these cells in the placenta and higher rates of miscarriages, ”said Dr. Magdalena Paulino, who led this study at the University of British Columbia.
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The thymus gland affects the metabolic regulation of the mother during pregnancy.
Gestational diabetes (Illustration: shutterstock)
The researchers further added that regulated T cells also appear to play a role in metabolic regulation during pregnancy.
The researchers described in their article how these cells migrated during pregnancy to adipose tissue in pregnant mice and prevented the formation of inflammation there as well as helped regulate blood glucose and insulin levels.
Mice without RANK receptors had higher levels of glucose and insulin in the blood and were also found in the blood to be present with additional indicators that indicate gestational diabetes.
The researchers also noted that the pups born to these mice were born at a higher weight than the pups of mice with a normal pregnancy.
"One of the Last Immunological Mysteries"
To prove that T cells were the key player in causing these differences, the researchers artificially gave the genetically modified mice the regulated T cells produced in the thymus and taken from mice with normal pregnancies.
They found that all of these differences are reversible with the help of regulated T cell therapy.
"The discovery of new mechanism is also the reason for the formation of GDM suggests a possible treatment for pregnant women and their fetuses future," said Dr. Alexandra Kautsky-Wheeler, one of the researchers.
"Thymus varies massively during pregnancy and how whole tissue rewrite itself affects the course "Pregnancy was one of the last mysteries in the context of immunology," Dr. Feninger said.
"Our work, which lasted for many years, not only solved this mystery, but also provided a new paradigm for the role of the thymus gland - it not only changes the mother's immune system so as not to reject the fetus, but also regulates the maternal health of the pregnant mother." , He explained.
"This study completely changes the way we perceive the thymus gland, it is an active and dynamic organ that is most needed for the proper course of healthy pregnancies," Feninger concluded.
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