A microscopical study of wound repair in the human placenta

Abstract

In order to fulfill its many functions as the selective interface between maternal and fetal circulations it is imperative that the human placenta remains intact and in good operational order. That damage of some sort occurs during its short but extremely active life seems inevitable given the dynamic environment in which the placenta exists, and evidence has accumulated that disruption is indeed a regular event. The implications of such damage, one could speculate, may impact on functions such as transport and hormone secretion as well as mutual protection against attack by maternal and fetal immune systems. Consequently, it would seem a theoretical necessity for discontinuities in the placenta surface to be repaired as soon as possible. We have used a combination of ex vivo observation, in vitro modelling, immunohistochemistry and correlative microscopy to provide evidence for a wound response in the placenta and to begin dissecting the detail of how this may operate. Evidence for small lesions caused by fusion and subsequent tearing of the syncytiotrophoblast in vivo, as well as plugging of such wounds by underlying cells is shown. We also identify a putative role for migratory cytotrophoblasts in the healing of larger scale injuries and demonstrate that certain molecules, common to wound repair in other tissues, appear to be involved in placenta repair also. Taken together these results clearly show that the human placenta is capable of a degree of self-maintenance by activating what appears to be an endogenous wound healing mechanism.