Sex at the interface: the origin and impact of sex differences in the developing human placenta.

ABSTRACT: The fetal placenta is a source of hormones and immune factors that play a vital role in maintaining pregnancy and facilitating fetal growth. Cells in this extraembryonic compartment match the chromosomal sex of the embryo itself. Sex differences have been observed in common gestational pathologies, highlighting the importance of maternal immune tolerance to the fetal compartment. Over the past decade, several studies examining placentas from term pregnancies have revealed widespread sex differences in hormone signaling, immune signaling, and metabolic functions. Given the rapid and dynamic development of the human placenta, sex differences that exist at term (37-42 weeks gestation) are unlikely to align precisely with those present at earlier stages when the fetal-maternal interface is bei

SUBMITTER: Braun AE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9482177 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature