In humans, the placenta that forms by an implantation process in the maternal uterus allows the development of the embryo and the fetus by exchanging ions, metabolites, and wastes and by producing specific hormones (steroids and proteins) with the levels of secretion often surpassing the levels of other endocrine organs. The process of placental development involves two pathways of differentiation that lead to the formation of two distinct phenotypes: villous trophoblast (fusion phenotype) and extravillous trophoblast (proliferative/invasive phenotype). In this chapter we describe the current methods to study villous trophoblast differentiation and the cell-cell fusion of the cytotrophoblast cells.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-009-0_5 | DOI Listing |
While most pregnancies are affected by nausea and vomiting, hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is at the severe end of the clinical spectrum and is associated with dehydration, undernutrition, and adverse maternal, fetal, and child outcomes. Herein we performed a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study (GWAS) of severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy of 10,974 cases and 461,461 controls across European, Asian, African, and Latino ancestries. We identified ten significantly associated loci, of which six were novel ( , , , , , and and confirmed previous genome-wide significant associations with risk genes , , , and .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVirus Res
December 2024
Department of Virology, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Legnaro (PD), Italy.
Among flaviviruses, Zika virus (ZIKV) is the only arbovirus officially recognized as a teratogenic agent, as a consequence of its ability to infect and cross the placental barrier causing congenital malformation in the fetus. While many studies have focused on understanding ZIKV pathogenesis during pregnancy, the viral mechanisms affecting fetal development remain largely unclear. In this study, we investigated ZIKV virulence in placental trophoblasts, using viruses with distinct lipid profiles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStem Cell Rev Rep
December 2024
The Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health/Mercy Hospital for Women, University of Melbourne, 163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, Victoria, 3084, Australia.
Leucine-rich repeat-containing G protein-coupled receptors 5/4 (LGR5/LGR4) are critical stem cell markers in epithelial tissues including intestine. They agonise wingless-related integration site (WNT) signalling. Until now, LGR5/LGR4 were uncharacterised in placenta, where analogous functions may exist.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlacenta
December 2024
Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Science, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, 85 Park Road, Grafton, Auckland, 1023, New Zealand. Electronic address:
Background: Organoids are stem-cell derived, self-organised, three-dimensional cultures that improve in vitro recapitulation of tissue structure. The generation of trophoblast organoids using primary placental villous digests (containing cytotrophoblasts and trophoblast stem cells (TSC)) improved high-throughput assessment of early trophoblast differentiation. However, the relative contributions of cytotrophoblasts and TSCs to trophoblast organoid growth and differentiation remain unclear, with implications for model interpretation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Cell Infect Microbiol
December 2024
Laboratory of Immunophysiology of Reproduction, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil.
Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a β-galactoside-binding lectin expressed in cells of the placental microenvironment. This lectin is involved in various biological processes, such as modulation of the immune system and control of parasitic illness. infection can lead to congenital transmission and cause miscarriages, prematurity and fetal anomalies.
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