In vitro placenta barrier model using primary human trophoblasts, underlying connective tissue and vascular endothelium

Abstract

Fetal development may be compromised by adverse events at the placental interface between mother and fetus. However, it is still unclear how the communication between mother and fetus occurs through the placenta. In vitro - models of the human placental barrier, which could help our understanding and which recreate three-dimensional (3D) structures with biological functionalities and vasculatures, have not been reported yet. Here we present a 3D-vascularized human primary placental barrier model which can be constructed in 1 day. We illustrate the similarity of our model to first trimester human placenta, both in its structure and in its ability to respond to altered oxygen and to secrete factors that cause damage cells across the barrier including embryonic cortical neurons. We use this model to highlight the possibility that both the trophoblast and the endothelium within the placenta might play a role in the fetomaternal dialogue.

Keywords: 3D-tissue model; Layer-by-layer; Placenta; Signalling; Vascularization.