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Advances in Experimental Medicine and... 2018The placenta is considered to have developed recently in mammalian evolution. While the fundamental function of the placenta, i.e., providing nutrients and oxygen to the... (Review)
Review
The placenta is considered to have developed recently in mammalian evolution. While the fundamental function of the placenta, i.e., providing nutrients and oxygen to the fetus and receiving waste products, is the same in all mammals, the morphology of the placenta varies substantially in a species-dependent manner. Therefore, considerable interest exists in understanding placental development and function in mammals from a molecular biological viewpoint. Numerous recent studies have shown that various environmental factors before and during pregnancy, including nutrition, affect placental formation and function and that alterations in placental formation and function can influence the developing fetus and the offspring after birth. To date, the relationship between nutrition and the placenta has been investigated in several species, various model organisms, and humans. In this chapter, we discuss the current knowledge of the placenta and the epigenome and then highlight the effects of nutrition during pregnancy on the placenta and the fetus and on the offspring after birth.
Topics: Animals; Environment; Female; Fetal Development; Fetus; Gene-Environment Interaction; Humans; Placenta; Placentation; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Prenatal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
PubMed: 29956195
DOI: 10.1007/978-981-10-5526-3_7 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Jan 2023Establishment of the hemochorial uterine-placental interface requires exodus of trophoblast cells from the placenta and their transformative actions on the uterus, which...
Establishment of the hemochorial uterine-placental interface requires exodus of trophoblast cells from the placenta and their transformative actions on the uterus, which represent processes critical for a successful pregnancy, but are poorly understood. We examined the involvement of CBP/p300-interacting transactivator with glutamic acid/aspartic acid-rich carboxyl-terminal domain 2 (CITED2) in rat and human trophoblast cell development. The rat and human exhibit deep hemochorial placentation. CITED2 was distinctively expressed in the junctional zone (JZ) and invasive trophoblast cells of the rat. Homozygous gene deletion resulted in placental and fetal growth restriction. Small null placentas were characterized by disruptions in the JZ, delays in intrauterine trophoblast cell invasion, and compromised plasticity. In the human placentation site, CITED2 was uniquely expressed in the extravillous trophoblast (EVT) cell column and importantly contributed to the development of the EVT cell lineage. We conclude that CITED2 is a conserved regulator of deep hemochorial placentation.
Topics: Animals; Female; Humans; Pregnancy; Rats; Placenta; Placentation; Repressor Proteins; Trans-Activators; Trophoblasts; Uterus
PubMed: 36626551
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2213622120 -
International Journal of Molecular... Jul 2022In humans, the placenta provides the only fetomaternal connection and is essential for establishing a pregnancy as well as fetal well-being. Additionally, it allows... (Review)
Review
In humans, the placenta provides the only fetomaternal connection and is essential for establishing a pregnancy as well as fetal well-being. Additionally, it allows maternal physiological adaptation and embryonic immunological acceptance, support, and nutrition. The placenta is derived from extra-embryonic tissues that develop rapidly and dynamically in the first weeks of pregnancy. It is primarily composed of trophoblasts that differentiate into villi, stromal cells, macrophages, and fetal endothelial cells (FEC). Placental differentiation may be closely related to perinatal diseases, including fetal growth retardation (FGR) and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), and miscarriage. There are limited findings regarding human chorionic villous differentiation and placental development because conducting in vivo studies is extremely difficult. Placental tissue varies widely among species. Thus, experimental animal findings are difficult to apply to humans. Early villous differentiation is difficult to study due to the small tissue size; however, a detailed analysis can potentially elucidate perinatal disease causes or help develop novel therapies. Artificial induction of early villous differentiation using human embryonic stem (ES) cells/induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells was attempted, producing normally differentiated villi that can be used for interventional/invasive research. Here, we summarized and correlated early villous differentiation findings and discussed clinical diseases.
Topics: Animals; Chorionic Villi; Endothelial Cells; Female; Fetal Growth Retardation; Humans; Placenta; Placentation; Pregnancy; Trophoblasts
PubMed: 35887349
DOI: 10.3390/ijms23148003 -
Domestic Animal Endocrinology Jan 2022Embryo mortality is responsible for greater losses in litter size in pigs. It is well known that pregnancy establishment is a complex process, and important changes... (Review)
Review
Embryo mortality is responsible for greater losses in litter size in pigs. It is well known that pregnancy establishment is a complex process, and important changes occur continuously in both the corpora lutea and the endometrium, which varies depending on the pre-natal development phase: embryonic, pre-implantation or fetal stages. The placenta is a key organ responsible for the exchange of nutrients, metabolites and respiratory gases between mother and fetuses. The porcine placenta is diffuse, epitheliochorial, and placentation begins with implantation, which involves specialized cell adhesion and cell migration, leading to the attachment of the trophectoderm to the uterine endometrial lumen epithelium. The efficiency with which the placenta provides adequate amounts of nutrients and oxygen to the fetus is crucial for proper fetal growth and development. In the last decades, emphasis on selection for sow prolificacy has resulted in a substantial increase in the number of piglets born per litter, which had a direct effect on piglet quality, compromising birth weight and litter uniformity. Placental insufficiency will lead to fetal intrauterine growth restriction. This review addresses the main events of early embryo development, including preimplantation and implantation periods. In addition, placentation and its role on fetal development are covered, as well as intrauterine growth restriction, as it is a natural condition in the pig, with long lasting detrimental effects to the production chain.
Topics: Animals; Embryo Implantation; Female; Fetal Development; Litter Size; Placenta; Placentation; Pregnancy; Swine
PubMed: 34474228
DOI: 10.1016/j.domaniend.2021.106656 -
Annales D'endocrinologie Jun 2016The placenta is a complex, transient organ associated with viviparity, which is located at the interface of the dam and fetus during pregnancy. It is formed after... (Review)
Review
The placenta is a complex, transient organ associated with viviparity, which is located at the interface of the dam and fetus during pregnancy. It is formed after attachment, or implantation, of the blastocyst on the uterine lining and derives from complex cellular and molecular interactions between uterine and embryonic tissues. In mammals, there are many forms of placentation but this organ has the same function in all species: it is responsible for orchestrating materno-fetal exchanges, together with endocrine and immunological functions.
Topics: Anatomy, Comparative; Animals; Female; Humans; Mammals; Placenta; Placentation; Pregnancy; Species Specificity
PubMed: 27155775
DOI: 10.1016/j.ando.2016.04.006 -
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Clinics of... Aug 2017Morbidly adherent placenta (MAP) encompasses a spectrum of conditions characterized by abnormal adherence of the placenta to the implantation site. Classification of MAP... (Review)
Review
Morbidly adherent placenta (MAP) encompasses a spectrum of conditions characterized by abnormal adherence of the placenta to the implantation site. Classification of MAP is based on the degree of trophoblastic invasion through myometrium and uterine serosa and includes accrete, when the villi are attached to the myometrium but do not invade the muscle; increta, when the placenta invades partially through the myometrium; and percreta, when it invades up to and beyond the uterine serosa. Knowledge of the common findings of MAP on MR imaging is important to be able to provide an accurate diagnosis.
Topics: Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Myometrium; Placenta; Placentation; Pregnancy
PubMed: 28668162
DOI: 10.1016/j.mric.2017.03.002 -
Advances in Anatomy, Embryology, and... 2021Pregnancy in pigs includes the events of conceptus (embryo/fetus and placental membranes) elongation, implantation, and placentation. Placentation in pigs is defined...
Pregnancy in pigs includes the events of conceptus (embryo/fetus and placental membranes) elongation, implantation, and placentation. Placentation in pigs is defined microscopically as epitheliochorial and macroscopically as diffuse. In general, placentation can be defined as the juxtapositioning of the endometrial/uterine microvasculature to the chorioallantoic/placental microvasculature to facilitate the transport of nutrients from the mother to the fetus to support fetal development and growth. Establishment of epitheliochorial placentation in the pig is achieved by: (1) the secretions of uterine glands prior to conceptus attachment to the uterus; (2) the development of extensive folding of the uterine-placental interface to maximize the surface area for movement of nutrients across this surface; (3) increased angiogenesis of the vasculature that delivers both uterine and placental blood and, with it, nutrients to this interface; (4) the minimization of connective tissue that lies between these blood vessels and the uterine and placental epithelia; (5) interdigitation of microvilli between the uterine and placental epithelia; and (6) the secretions of the uterine glands, called histotroph, that accumulate in areolae for transport though the placenta to the fetus. Placentation in pigs is not achieved by invasive growth of the placenta into the uterus. In this chapter, we summarize current knowledge about the major events that occur during the early stages of implantation and placentation in the pig. We will focus on the microanatomy of porcine placentation that builds off the excellent histological work of Amoroso and others and provide a brief review of some of the key physiological, cellular, and molecular events that accompany the development of "implantation" in pigs.
Topics: Animals; Embryo Implantation; Endometrium; Female; Placenta; Placentation; Pregnancy; Swine; Uterus
PubMed: 34694478
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-77360-1_5 -
Advances in Anatomy, Embryology, and... 2021In the domestic dog, placentation arises from central implantation, passing through a transitional, yet important stage of choriovitelline placenta (yolk sac placenta),...
In the domestic dog, placentation arises from central implantation, passing through a transitional, yet important stage of choriovitelline placenta (yolk sac placenta), on the way to the formation of the definite, deciduate, zonary (girdle) allantochorionic endotheliochorial placenta.Sharing some similarities with other invasive types of placentation, e.g., by revealing decidualization, it is characterized by restricted (shallow) invasion of trophoblast not affecting maternal capillaries and maternal decidual cells. Thus, being structurally and functionally placed between noninvasive epitheliochorial placentation and the more invasive hemochorial type, it presents an interesting and important model for understanding the evolutionarily determined aspects of mammalian placentation. More profound insights into the biological mechanisms underlying the restricted invasion of the fetal trophoblast into maternal uterine structures and the role of decidual cells in that process could provide better understanding of some adverse conditions occurring in humans, like preeclampsia or placenta accreta. As an important endocrine organ actively responding to ovarian steroids and producing its own hormones, e.g., serving as the source of gestational relaxin or prepartum prostaglandins, the canine placenta has become an attractive research target, both in basic and clinical research. In particular, the placental feto-maternal communication between maternal stroma-derived decidual cells and fetal trophoblast cells (i.e., an interplay between placenta materna and placenta fetalis) during the maintenance and termination of canine pregnancy serves as an interesting model for induction of parturition in mammals and is an attractive subject for translational and comparative research. Here, an updated view on morpho-functional aspects associated with canine placentation is presented.
Topics: Animals; Dogs; Embryo Implantation; Female; Placenta; Placentation; Pregnancy; Trophoblasts; Uterus
PubMed: 34694481
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-77360-1_8 -
Vitamins and Hormones 2017Neurotrophins, a family of closely related proteins, were originally identified as growth factors for survival, development, and function of neurons in both the central... (Review)
Review
Neurotrophins, a family of closely related proteins, were originally identified as growth factors for survival, development, and function of neurons in both the central and peripheral nervous systems. Subsequently, neurotrophins have been shown to have functions in immune and reproductive systems. Neurotrophins like nerve growth factor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are known to play an important role during pregnancy in the process of placental angiogenesis and maturation. Several studies have demonstrated the presence of neurotrophins in the human placenta. The current chapter reviews studies demonstrating the role of neurotrophins during pregnancy particularly in placental development. This chapter also focuses on the regional changes in neurotrophins in the human placenta and its interactions with other growth factors. Future research is needed to understand the mechanisms through which neurotrophins influence the growth and development of the placenta and pregnancy outcome.
Topics: Animals; Female; Humans; Male; Models, Biological; Nerve Growth Factors; Placenta; Placentation; Pre-Eclampsia; Pregnancy; Premature Birth
PubMed: 28215297
DOI: 10.1016/bs.vh.2016.11.002 -
Current Opinion in Obstetrics &... Dec 2017To review the current data on maternal cardiovascular adaptation in normal pregnancy and preeclampsia. (Review)
Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
To review the current data on maternal cardiovascular adaptation in normal pregnancy and preeclampsia.
RECENT FINDINGS
Defective placentation causes early-onset preeclampsia, a disease entity that is considered more or less distinct from late-onset preeclampsia. The latter has been attributed as 'maternal' preeclampsia. There are inconsistencies with the placental origins hypothesis, especially when considering the lack of a causative association with abnormal placental histology or impaired fetal growth. An alternative explanation is that placental dysfunction is secondary to maternal cardiovascular maladaptation in pregnancy. The concept that placental dysfunction is secondary to a maternal disorder is not new when one considers the clinical similarities between preeclampsia and gestational diabetes - both pregnancy-specific conditions that are cured by birth. It is accepted that gestational diabetes develops when the maternal pancreas is unable to manage the increasing glucose load of pregnancy. It is now apparent that pregnancy presents a substantial cardiovascular load on the maternal heart, and that cardiovascular dysfunction precedes the disorder, predominates in the clinical syndrome and persists for several decades postpartum. It is time to consider the evidence that failure of the maternal cardiovascular system to adapt to pregnancy may well be the primary mechanism leading to secondary placental dysfunction in preeclampsia.
SUMMARY
Many of the existing paradoxes of preeclampsia challenge the placental origin hypothesis and are explained if one considered preeclampsia to be a cardiovascular syndrome.
Topics: Cardiovascular Diseases; Female; Humans; Hypertension; Placenta; Placentation; Pre-Eclampsia; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular; Risk Factors
PubMed: 28961633
DOI: 10.1097/GCO.0000000000000419