Fetal-origin cells in maternal circulation correlate with placental dysfunction, fetal sex, and severe hypertension during pregnancy

Abstract

Fetal microchimerism (FMc) arises when fetal cells enter maternal circulation, potentially persisting for decades. Increased FMc is associated with fetal growth restriction, preeclampsia, and anti-angiogenic shift in placenta-associated proteins in diabetic and normotensive term pregnancies. The two-stage model of preeclampsia postulates that placental dysfunction causes such shift in placental growth factor (PlGF) and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFLt-1), triggering maternal vascular inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. We investigated whether anti-angiogenic shift, fetal sex, fetal growth restriction, and severe maternal hypertension correlate with FMc in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy with new-onset features (n = 125). Maternal blood was drawn pre-delivery at > 25 weeks' gestation. FMc was detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction targeting paternally inherited unique fetal alleles. PlGF and sFlt-1 were measured by immunoassay. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) by logistic regression and detection rate ratios (DRRs) by negative binomial regression. PlGF correlated negatively with FMc quantity (DRR = 0.2, p = 0.005) and female fetal sex correlated positively with FMc prevalence (OR = 5.0, p < 0.001) and quantity (DRR = 4.5, p < 0.001). Fetal growth restriction no longer correlated with increased FMc quantity after adjustment for correlates of placental dysfunction (DRR = 1.5, p = 0.272), whereas severe hypertension remained correlated with both FMc measures (OR = 5.5, p = 0.006; DRR = 6.3, p = 0.001). Our findings suggest that increased FMc is independently associated with both stages of the two-stage preeclampsia model. The association with female fetal sex has implications for microchimerism detection methodology. Future studies should target both male and female-origin FMc and focus on clarifying which placental mechanisms impact fetal cell transfer and how FMc impacts the maternal vasculature.