Friday , March 31 2023

Cellular map of healthy pregnancy could also help to understand spontaneous abortions or pre-eclampsia – ScienceDaily



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The first human Atlas cell study at the beginning of pregnancy in humans showed how the function of the maternal immune system is affected by cells in the developing placenta. Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Newcastle University and Cambridge University have used genomic and bioinformatic approaches to map over 70,000 single cells at the junction of the uterus and placenta. This has shown how cells talk to each other to modify the immune response and allow the task.

Posted in The nature, this paper presents new and unexpected cell states in the uterus and placenta and shows which genes are activated in each cell. Prospects from this will help us understand what leads to a successful task and what can go wrong during spontaneous abortions or pre-eclampsia.

Maintaining a healthy pregnancy can sometimes be difficult, with many women suffering from spontaneous or birth abortions, and others have problems such as preeclampsia. The roots of many of these problems occur during the first few weeks of pregnancy when the placenta is formed.

The fetus creates a placenta surrounding it in the uterus to provide nutrients and oxygen. This is in contact with the mother implanting in the lining of the uterus – known as the decidua – to create a good blood supply for the placenta. Research on the mother-to-child interface could help answer many vital questions, including how the mother's immune system is modified to allow both the mother and the developing fetus to co-exist. However, to date, this area has not been well studied.

To understand this area, researchers studied more than 70,000 unique cells from first trimester pregnancies. Using single-cell RNA and DNA sequencing, they identified maternal and fetal cells in decidua and placenta and discovered how these cells interact. They found that fetal and maternal cells use signals to talk to each other, and this conversation allowed the maternal immune system to support the growth of the fetus.

Dr. Roser Vento-Tormo, the first author of the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said, "For the first time, we've been able to see the genes that are active in each deciduous and placental cell, and they have discovered which of these could modify the immune system maternal Fetal cells from the placenta communicate with the immune cells of the mother to provide the correct placental implants, which allows the fetus to grow and develop normally.

Using microscopy-based methods, the researchers could also identify the location of new cellular states in the different layers of the deciduum. They have seen how the placenta's biological blocks – called trophoblasty cells – invade the mucosa of the mother's uterus and cause the tissue to change the structure, creating the developing fetus's blood supply.

Professor Muzlifah Haniffa, the Newcastle University correspondent, said: "This study was only possible due to Biological Resources for Human Development, which provides tissues that allow research to understand human development to help improve health. of the placenta for the first time and how the cells in the developing placenta and uterus communicate. This has huge implications for understanding what happens in a normal pregnancy and for studying what can go wrong in conditions such as pre-eclampsia and spontaneous abortion. "

Professor Ashley Moffett, author of Cambridge University, said: "Deciduum formation is vital to a successful task, and our study has revealed the completely new subtypes of deciduous cells to understand how maternal immune response helps to achieve a successful task.

Understanding this area also has implications for the study of cancers. Tumor cells can use similar mechanisms to avoid the immune system and to extract a new source of blood to provide nutrients and oxygen for tumor growth.

Dr. Sarah Teichmann, a corresponding paper writer at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and co-chair of the Human Cell Atlas Initiative Committee, said: "This first Atlas of Human Cells at the start of pregnancy gives us a reference map of This initial vital phase of this will turn our understanding of healthy development and will help us understand how placental and maternal cells communicate with each other to support the pregnancy. This will shed light on pregnancy disorders and could also help , to understand the pathways that exploit cancer cells. "

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Materials provided by Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. Note: content can be edited for style and length.

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