Advances in Human Placental Biomechanics

Abstract

Pregnancy complications are a major clinical concern due to the related maternal and fetal morbidity. Many are caused through defective placentation, but research into placental function is difficult, principally because of the ethical limitations associated with the in-vivo organ and the difficulty of extrapolating animal models. Perfused by two separate circulations, the maternal and fetal bloodstreams, the placenta has a unique structure and performs multiple complex functions. Three-dimensional imaging and computational modelling are becoming popular tools to investigate the morphology and physiology of this organ. These techniques bear the potential for better understanding the aetiology and development of placental pathologies, however, their full potential is yet to be exploited. This review aims to summarize the recent insights into placental structure and function by employing these novel techniques.

Differences in placental capillary shear stress in fetal growth restriction may affect endothelial cell function and vascular network formation

“…With the right balance between branching and non-branching angiogenesis, normal placentae have a well-branched and multi-looped vascular network 6 . The placental vasculature has been assessed at the micro- and macro-scale using a number of techniques that are comprehensively reviewed by Plitman Mayo 7 . At the macro-scale these include using analysis of vascular corrosion casts 8–10 , computed tomography (CT) using contrast agents in the vasculature 10–12 , and magnetic resonance angiography 13 .…”

Tissue clearing and imaging methods for cardiovascular development

“…From acquired 3D models, besides the various characteristics of myocardium or microvasculature orientation, advanced analysis can be performed. Computational modeling has been used to compute the blood flow within the vasculature, and data have been already published for brain ( Blinder et al., 2013 ; Kirst et al., 2020 ) and placenta ( Plitman Mayo, 2018 ). In the brain, even the oxygen transport was modeled ( Gagnon et al., 2016 ).…”

The Role of the 3Rs for Understanding and Modeling the Human Placenta

“…The placental structure in some of the most recent models is obtained through imaging of the organ after tissue processing with advanced imaging and 3D reconstruction techniques [ 90 ]. Modeling the data gathered through computational simulations allows a noninvasive and faithful representation of the structure and dynamics of the human placenta, which cannot be accomplished with in vitro or in vivo models.…”