Placental Development and Maternal Vascular Interactions
Summary
The human placenta is a transient organ that mediates nutrient and gas exchange between maternal and foetal circulations. Its development involves the differentiation of trophoblast populations, invasion of the maternal decidua and extensive remodelling of uterine spiral arteries. Early in gestation, extravillous trophoblasts migrate into the maternal vasculature, displacing endothelial and smooth muscle cells to establish high‐capacity, low‐resistance vessels that support increasing foetal demands. Simultaneously, vasculogenesis and angiogenesis within the chorionic villi generate a dense capillary network optimised for exchange. Dysregulation of any of these processes underpins common disorders of pregnancy such as pre-eclampsia, foetal growth restriction and stillbirth. Research has focussed on the molecular cues that guide trophoblast invasion, the interplay of oxygen tension and angiogenic growth factors, and the role of maternal immune cells in shaping vascular remodelling. Improved understanding of these interactions holds promise for targeted therapies and biomarkers to predict and prevent adverse outcomes.
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Placental Development and Maternal Vascular Interactions publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in placental development and maternal vascular interactions across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Extravillous trophoblast: A subtype of trophoblast that invades the maternal decidua and remodels spiral arteries.
Spiral artery remodelling: The transformation of high-resistance uterine vessels into low-resistance channels to increase blood flow to the placenta.
Angiogenesis: The sprouting and branching of new blood vessels from pre-existing vasculature within the placental villi.
Vasculogenesis: The de novo assembly of endothelial precursors into primitive blood vessel networks in the early placenta.
Syncytiotrophoblast: The multinucleated outer layer of the placental villus that mediates nutrient and gas exchange.
References
- Alpha-2-macroglobulin is involved in the occurrence of early-onset pre-eclampsia via its negative impact on uterine spiral artery remodeling and placental angiogenesis. BMC Medicine (2023).
- Human placental development and function. Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology (2022).
- Nox2 impairs VEGF-A-induced angiogenesis in placenta via mitochondrial ROS-STAT3 pathway. Redox Biology (2021).
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