While it was once thought that the mother’s immune system was the sole source of protection from infection for a foetus, a recent finding by a team of Duke-NUS scientists suggests otherwise, with foetuses capable of mounting their own immune response. Significantly, the scientists found that the outcome of an infection varies depending on the immune cell—with monocytes causing inflammatory damage to a developing foetal brain and microglia taking on a protective role.

This breakthrough discovery, published in Cell, offers new approaches to protecting foetuses’ brain health by reducing harmful inflammation.

“Our work has shown that the immune responses of foetuses can be either protective or harmful. Knowing how various immune cells contribute to foetal immune protection will be important in our continued search for ways to improve pregnancy outcomes.”

Assoc Prof Ashley St John