title: Human Extravillous Trophoblasts Penetrate Decidual Veins and Lymphatics before Remodeling Spiral Arteries during Early Pregnancy.
abstract: In humans, the defective invasion of the maternal endometrium by fetal extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs) can lead to insufficient perfusion of the placenta, resulting in pregnancy complications that can put both mother and baby at risk. To study the invasion of maternal endometrium between (W)5.5-12 weeks of gestation by EVTs, we combined fluorescence in situ hybridization, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry to determine the presence of (male) EVTs in the vasculature of the maternal decidua. We observed that interstitial mononuclear EVTs directly entered decidual veins and lymphatics from W5.5. This invasion of decidual veins and lymphatics occurred long before endovascular EVTs remodelled decidual spiral arteries. This unexpected early entrance of interstitial mononuclear EVTs in the maternal circulation does not seem to contribute to the materno-placental vascular connection directly, but rather to establish (and expand) the materno-fetal interface through an alternative vascular route.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Nannan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Liesbeth
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van Iperen
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de Jong
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Karoly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Szuhai
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology, Division of Reproductive Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frans M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Helmerhorst
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology, Division of Reproductive Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lucette A J
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: van der Westerlaken
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.|Department for Reproductive Medicine, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Susana M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Chuva de Sousa Lopes
mesh_terms: D001158:Arteries / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D003656:Decidua / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000523:psychology*; D014327:Trophoblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D066253:Vascular Remodeling / Q000502:physiology*; D014680:Veins / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism