The fetal membranes enclose the growing fetus and amniotic fluid. Preterm prelabor rupture of fetal membranes is a leading cause of preterm birth. Fetal membranes are composed of many different cell types, both structural and immune. These cells must coordinate functions for tensile strength and membrane integrity to contain the growing fetus and amniotic fluid. They must also balance immune responses to pathogens with maintaining maternal-fetal tolerance. Perturbation of this equilibrium can lead to preterm premature rupture of membranes without labor. In this review, we describe the formation of the fetal membranes to orient the reader, discuss some of the common forms of communication between the cell types of the fetal membranes, and delve into the methods used to tease apart this paracrine signaling within the membranes, including emerging technologies such as organ-on-chip models of membrane immunobiology.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7878582PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14767058.2020.1802716DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

fetal membranes
24
membranes
8
growing fetus
8
fetus amniotic
8
amniotic fluid
8
cell types
8
fetal
6
leveraging bioengineering
4
bioengineering assess
4
assess cellular
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!