Scientists create "mini placenta" organoids in a laboratory dish

British scientists have succeeded in creating mini-organoids of the human placenta which they believe will transform the scientific understanding of the disorders of reproduction such as pre-eclampsia and miscarriage. .

Organoids, miniature functional cell models from the earliest stages of the human placenta, will also allow researchers to explore the factors that promote a healthy pregnancy and how certain diseases can pbad from one mother to another. developing baby.

The human placenta. provides all the oxygen and nutrients essential for the growth of the fetus. If it does not develop properly, the pregnancy may fail and end in a dead birth or miscarriage, or a baby may be born with developmental problems.

Ashley Moffett, a professor in the Department of Pathology, Physiology, Development and Neuroscience who co-directed her work, explained that while the placenta is absolutely essential to support a growing baby in the mother, researchers know relatively little because of the lack of good experimental models.

"This is the first organ that is developing, but it is also the least well understood," she told reporters at a press briefing.

The science of organoids has developed in recent years, research teams developing everything from the mini-brain to the mini-lung through the mini-lungs, understanding of human biology and disease. 19659003] The Cambridge team, whose latest work was published in the journal Nature, began its efforts to develop human placental cells over 30 years old Moffett and his colleagues studied cell events during the first weeks of pregnancy

The team progressively developed ways to isolate and characterize placental cells and finally found the right combination of harvested cells and a mini organ generation organoid culture system.

"We have been trying to do this for years," said Moffett.

Graham Burton, who also worked on this research, said the success of the mini-placenta should also shed light on other misunderstood aspects of the relationships between the placenta, the uterus and the fetus. These include how the placenta prevents certain infections of the mother's blood from being transmitted to the baby but fails to control others, such as the Zika virus, for example.

Organoids can also be used for safe screening of drugs for possible use at the beginning of treatment.

Vivian Li, a specialist at the British Francis Crick Institute, is not involved in this work, saying it was an "exciting" step.

"These mini placentas are small-scale and certainly can not be used to prepare babies in a dish. But the possibility of cultivating them in the dish opened the possibility of more complex studies, "she said in a statement sent by e-mail.

(Source)