Analysis of the innate immune receptor NOD1 and its ligands as a novel cause for the development of the intrauterine fetal growth restriction

Nod1(核苷酸结合寡聚化结构域包含1)是模式识别受体之一，在诱导先天免疫和炎症反应中发挥重要作用。然而，关于Nod1直接激活对胎儿或新生儿的影响，人们知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们证明了给怀孕小鼠注射Nod1配体会导致胎儿宫内死亡和生长受限。我们还发现胎儿受母体Nod1配体经胎盘途径的影响。我们研究了Nod1信号在胎鼠中的作用，重点是血管病变的发生。我们的观察提示Nod1配体介导的胎儿天然免疫系统的激活与IUGR之间可能存在联系，并可能为改善IUGR患者的长期心血管健康提供一种新的策略。

Nod1 (nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain containing 1) is one of the pattern recognition receptors that play an important role in the induction of innate immune and inflammatory responses. However, little is known regarding the effects of direct activation of Nod1 on fetus or newborn. In this study, we demonstrated that administration of Nod1 ligand to pregnant mice induced intrauterine fetal death and growth restriction. We also found that fetuses were affected by transplacental passage of maternal Nod1 ligand. We examined the role of Nod1 signaling in a fetal mouse with a focus on the development of vasculopathy. Our observation suggests a possible link between Nod1 ligands-mediated activation of the innate immune system in fetus and IUGR and might offer a new strategy to improve the long-term cardiovascular health of IUGR cases.