Investigating human placentation and pregnancy using first trimester chorionic villi

Chorionic villus sampling (CVS), routinely used for prenatal diagnosis of cytogenetic disorders, also possesses great potential for the study of placentation. To better understand villus biology, human placentation, and how these relate to pregnancy outcomes, we examined the morphology and transcriptomes of villi obtained via CVS from 10-14 weeks of pregnancy and correlated these with pregnancy attributes and clinical outcomes. First, we established a morphological scoring system based on three main villus features: branching, budding and vascularization.

Source: Placenta - March 22, 2018 Category: Reproduction Medicine Authors: Roberta L. Hannibal, Margarida Cardoso Moreira, Shilpa P. Chetty, Joanne Lau, Zhongxia Qi, Eduardo Gonzalez-Maldonado, Athena M. Cherry, Jingwei Yu, Mary E. Norton, Julie C. Baker Source Type: research