[Microchimerisme in systemic sclerosis].

Several studies have shown an association between the presence of systemic sclerosis in females and the presence of fetal cells in peripheral blood. These results have led to the hypothesis that systemic sclerosis (SSc) may indeed be the consequence of an allogeneic fetomaternal reaction. However, certain normal female controls also exhibit microchimerism. In addition, there are several clinical and histological differences between SSc and sclerodermoid graft versus host reaction. If microchimerism plays a role in SSc, it would therefore comprise one step in a multistep process. This review focuses on recent papers targeting microchimerism and its evaluation in SSc.