Identification and analysis of a new group of diseases with a common etiology of abnormal immune response to embryonic signals

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K22681
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 56:Surgery related to the biological and sensory functions and related fields
• Research Institution: Kanazawa University
• Principal Investigator: Fujiwara Hiroshi 金沢大学, 医学系, 教授 (30252456)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-06-28 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 胚シグナル / 免疫寛容 / 幹細胞

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We have been analyzing the function of embryo-derived signaling molecules that are involved in the embryo-maternal crosstalk and hypothesized that these molecules are expressed after birth and may induce immune tolerance from self-immune cells. In this study, we analyzed the response of immune cells to embryonic signals in gynecological diseases such as infertility and endometriosis, perinatal diseases such as gestational hypertension, and autoimmune endocrine diseases, assuming a new group of diseases that have the common etiology based on an abnormal immune response to embryonic signals. As a result, we found that the response of maternal immune cells in gestational hypertension is different from that of normal pregnancy, suggesting the involvement of embryonic signals and the immune system in the development of gestational hypertension.

Free Research Field

産婦人科

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

免疫系の異常が関与している可能性は示唆されたもののその詳細な成因が不明な疾患が小児科、産婦人科、および内科の広い領域においても数多く存在し、これまで問題となってきた。本研究は「胚シグナルに対する免疫応答異常を共通の病因とする新しい病態」の存在を想定し、全く新しい視点から疾患の分類を試みている。このプロジェクトにより新しい疾患群の全容が明らかになると、これまで治療が困難であったとされていた免疫疾患においても、その発症機序に基づいた新しい治療法の開発が可能になることが期待される。