Insights into the pathogenesis of preeclampsia based on the features of placentation and tumorigenesis

Placentation and tumorigenesis have many common features. Human placentation builds a maternal–fetal connection, circumvents maternal immune rejection of the fetus, and utilizes mechanisms that support tumorigenesis, such as proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis, and immune tolerance. Trophoblasts of the human placenta mimic the behavior of malignant cells, proliferating and invading the uterine decidua until reaching the myometrium and remodeling the spiral arteries that establish a new vascular system and escape the maternal immune response. These processes are under precise temporal and spatial regulation, and their dysregulation is associated with different pregnancy syndromes, including preeclampsia (PE), a pregnancy syndrome that is the leading cause of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. At present, the precise mechanisms underlying the development of PE remain unclear. Here, we summarize and dissect the features between physiological placentation and pathological tumorigenesis to explore the pathogenesis of PE – which we believe to be the result of insufficient placentation, compared to the overaggression of tumorigenesis – to provide novel strategies to prevent and treat PE.