Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology, College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA.
Med Hypotheses. 2012 Oct;79(4):481-3. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2012.06.029. Epub 2012 Jul 23.
Gender differences in stem cell population have recently been identified. Blood and tissue samples from women showed consistent elevation of hematopoietic stem cell populations, mesenchymal stem cell populations and endothelial progenitor cells compared to men of similar ages. We and others have shown an increase in hematopoietic stem cell population in pregnant and multiparous women compared to nulliparous women. We propose that pregnancy exposes women to increased levels of stem cells from many sources not available for nulliparous women or for men. During pregnancy, maternal fetal microchimerism results from trafficking of fetal and maternal blood across the placenta. Physiological changes in the maternal blood cellular milieu are also recognized during pregnancy and in the early post partum due to the presence of unique pregnancy associated tissues and hormones. These include the placenta, the amniotic fluid and cord blood. These tissues are highly enriched for different populations of stem cells including hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells. Recent studies showed accelerated healing in women affected by cardiovascular insults and stroke, in part due to faster tissue regeneration and stem cell activity. We propose that gender differences in stem cell population are caused in part due to maternal exposure to fetal and unique pregnancy associated tissues, which are significantly enriched in different stem cell populations.
最近已经确定了干细胞群体中的性别差异。与年龄相仿的男性相比，女性的血液和组织样本显示出造血干细胞群体、间充质干细胞群体和内皮祖细胞群体持续升高。我们和其他人已经表明，与未生育的女性相比，怀孕和多产的女性的造血干细胞群体增加。我们提出，怀孕使女性接触到来自许多来源的增加的干细胞，这些干细胞对于未生育的女性或男性是不可用的。在怀孕期间，由于胎盘的存在，胎儿和母亲的血液会在母胎之间进行运输，从而导致母体胎儿微嵌合体的形成。由于存在独特的与妊娠相关的组织和激素，母体血液细胞环境在怀孕期间和产后早期也会发生生理变化。这些包括胎盘、羊水和脐带血。这些组织富含不同的干细胞群体，包括造血干细胞、间充质干细胞和内皮祖细胞。最近的研究表明，受心血管损伤和中风影响的女性的愈合速度加快，部分原因是组织再生和干细胞活性更快。我们提出，干细胞群体中的性别差异部分是由于母体暴露于胎儿和独特的与妊娠相关的组织，这些组织在不同的干细胞群体中显著富集。
