title: Hematopoietic stem cell development in the placenta.
abstract: The placenta is a highly vascularized organ that mediates fetal-maternal exchange during pregnancy and is thereby vital for the survival and growth of the developing embryo. In addition to having this well-established role in supporting pregnancy, the placenta was recently shown to function as a hematopoietic organ. The placenta is unique among other fetal hematopoietic organs, as it is capable of both generating multipotential hematopoietic cells de novo and establishing a major hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) pool in the conceptus, while protecting HSCs from premature differentiation. The mouse placenta contains two distinct vascular regions that support hematopoiesis: the large vessels in the chorionic plate where HSCs/progenitors are thought to emerge and the labyrinth vasculature where nascent HSCs/progenitors may colonize for expansion and possible functional maturation. Defining how this cytokine- and growth factor rich organ supports HSC generation, maturation and expansion may ultimately help to establish culture protocols for HSC expansion or de novo generation from pluripotent cells.
authors: University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors: Christos
authors: C
authors: Gekas
authors: Katrin E
authors: KE
authors: Rhodes
authors: Ben
authors: B
authors: Van Handel
authors: Akanksha
authors: A
authors: Chhabra
authors: Masaya
authors: M
authors: Ueno
authors: Hanna K A
authors: HK
authors: Mikkola
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000098:blood supply*; D006410:Hematopoiesis; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D006413:Hematopoietic System / Q000196:embryology*; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D010920:Placenta / Q000098:blood supply*; D011247:Pregnancy