The volume of villi with γ-sm-actin positive perivascular cells correlates with placental weight and thickness.

Introduction: The classification of histologically stained villous cross sections in villous types (terminal, intermediate and stem villi) by stromal peculiarities is known to be observer predicated. Therefore, quantitative histology of villous trees has not become a routine endpoint of studies on the role of the placenta in prenatal programming, as opposed to the gross placental parameters weight and thickness. The classification of villous cross sections in central (stem) and peripheral (terminal) parts based on the presence or absence, respectively, of immunohistochemical detection of myofibroblasts in perivascular position is less observer dependent.

The Density of Cell Nuclei at the Materno-Fetal Exchange Barrier is Sexually Dimorphic in Normal Placentas, but not in IUGR.

Placental sexual dimorphism is of special interest in prenatal programming. Various postnatal diseases with gender dependent incidence, especially neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders, have prenatal risk factors established. However, the functional relevance of placental microarchitecture in prenatal programming is poorly investigated, mainly due to a lack of statistically efficient methods.

Placental Morphology Is Associated with Maternal Depressive Symptoms during Pregnancy and Toddler Psychiatric Problems.

Maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy predict increased psychiatric problems in children. The underlying biological mechanisms remain unclear. Hence, we examined whether alterations in the morphology of 88 term placentas were associated with maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy and psychiatric problems in 1.

Syncytial nuclei accumulate at the villous surface in IUGR while proliferation is unchanged.

Introduction: Placental syncytiotrophoblast is responsible for feto-maternal nutrient exchange during pregnancy. It is assumed that in IUGR, placental dysfunction is crucially bound to compromised stability and function of syncytiotrophoblast, the latter being related to altered proliferation of villous trophoblast. Cell cycle data obtained on conventional thin sections has produced inconsistent results.

Dynamic modeling of uteroplacental blood flow in IUGR indicates vortices and elevated pressure in the intervillous space - a pilot study.

Ischemic placental disease is a concept that links intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and preeclampsia (PE) back to insufficient remodeling of uterine spiral arteries. The rheological consequences of insufficient remodeling of uterine spiral arteries were hypothesized to mediate the considerably later manifestation of obstetric disease. However, the micro-rheology in the intervillous space (IVS) cannot be examined clinically and rheological animal models of the human IVS do not exist.