Multi-scale Modelling of Shear Stress on the Syncytiotrophoblast: Could Maternal Blood Flow Impact Placental Function Across Gestation?

ABSTRACT: The placenta is a critical fetal exchange organ, with a complex branching tree-like structure. Its surface is covered by a single multinucleated cell, the syncytiotrophoblast, which bathes in maternal blood for most of pregnancy. Mechanosensing protein expression by the syncytiotrophoblast at term suggests that shear stress exerted by maternal blood flow may modulate placental development and function. However, it is not known how the mechanosensitive capacity of the syncytiotrophoblast, or the shear stress it experiences, change across gestation. Here, we show that the syncytiotrophoblast expresses both mechanosensitive ion channels (Piezo 1, Polycystin 2, TRPV6) and motor proteins associated with primary cilia (Dynein 1, IFT88, Kinesin 2), with higher staining for all these proteins seen

SUBMITTER: Lee TC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10172261 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature