Placenta and Reproductive Medicine: Covering research on perinatal health

Abstract

DOI: 10.54844/prm.2022.0108 The placenta, as the tree of life, is an organ of utmost importance, supporting fetal development by secreting hormones, cytokines, and other compounds and by mediating nutrient and waste exchange. Normal development and function of early placentation allows the maternal defense system to recognize and tolerate the semiallogeneic fetus that carries paternal antigens and to allow for the normal invasion of trophoblasts. Dysfunctional maternal-fetal crosstalk and deficient placentation are significantly linked to pregnancy loss and pregnancy complications, such as miscarriage,[1] intrauterine growth restriction or stillbirth,[2] and pre-eclampsia.[3]