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Previous Volume 360:1355-1357 March 26, 2009 Number 13 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Most people would agree that mothers are influential in shaping their children's outlook on life. A recent study by Mold and colleagues¹ discloses a new facet of maternal influence: maternal immune cells "teach" those of the fetus how to balance the need for self-defense on the one hand and the requirement for immunologic tolerance on the other. Balance is critical. Too much restraint of immunity could lead to a lethal infection in the newborn; too little could lead to autoimmunity.

The study by Mold et al. offers a rare glimpse into the development of the human adaptive immune system, and . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Source Information

From the Department of Surgery, Division of Transplantation, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• van Rood, J. J., Stevens, C. E., Smits, J., Carrier, C., Carpenter, C., Scaradavou, A. (2009). Reexposure of cord blood to noninherited maternal HLA antigens improves transplant outcome in hematological malignancies. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 106: 19952-19957 [Abstract] [Full Text]