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Pregnancy Genetics Gains Major US Grant

Dr Brian Mansfield of Massey University's Department of Microbiology and Genetics has been awarded a grant worth over US$500,000 for research into the genetics of pregnancy genes.

Mansfield's research work is concerned with demonstrating the biological role of pregnancy genes which he had previously discovered. These pregnancy genes encode proteins which appear within the woman's blood very shortly after she becomes pregnant. They build up in concentration in the blood throughout pregnancy, reaching high concentrations at term.

It was known that if women had lower concentrations than normal, there were foetal abnormalities and, at very low levels, the foetus aborted. Mansfield's hypothesis is that one of the roles of the proteins might be to stop the woman's body rejecting the foetus, which is, after all, a foreign body.

"The foetus is a mixture of the mother and father, so why does it survive so well in the mother's body when it is actually foreign to the mother? Do the proteins modulate the mother's immune system?"

Mansfield says the research could have widespread applications. Currently overseas the proteins can be used to monitor fetal wellbeing and diagnose certain reproductive diseases. Knowing what the proteins do would allow them to be used rather than monitored.

"In the long term it could result in therapy for women who have low protein levels in pregnancy, who might be at risk of miscarriage."

Another possible application of the pregnancy gene research is that women's protein levels could be artificially altered to help modify fertility. A further set of applications could be in the treatment of immune disorders, particularly situations of auto-immunity, such as arthritis.

Mansfield says he was very fortunate to get the grant, which provides him the opportunity of working in the US and covers his salary, working expenses and overheads for three years, as it is only available to US academics. He is able to fulfil the requirements because of an honorary full professorship that was offered to him by Georgetown University, Washington DC, when he was working at the nearby National Institute of Health on a short sabbatical in 1992.