How does the placenta transmit to the fetal brain the biological information necessary for its development during pregnancy?
- The placenta plays an essential role in the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide, the elimination of waste, the transfer of nutrients, the synthesis of certain hormones, protection and immunity.
- Extracellular vesicles, these bubble-shaped microparticles produced by placental cells, play an essential role in the transmission of biological information from the placenta to neurons in the fetal brain.
- Taking samples could make it possible to make an early diagnosis of certain neurological pathologies such as schizophrenia or autism spectrum disorders, according to the researchers.
The placenta, this ephemeral organ that develops in the uterus during pregnancy, plays an essential role, allowing the fetus to communicate with its mother by transferring proteins, lipids, micro-RNAs and even neurotransmitters to the fetal brain.
For the first time, an American study, published in the journal Biology of Reproductionhighlights how exactly all of this biological information is transferred to the developing brain.
“The extracellular vesicles of the placenta are the missing link”
In their experiments on mice, researchers from the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri discovered that extracellular vesicles, bubble-shaped microparticles produced by placental cells, act “as a protective ‘shipping and handling’ mechanism” carrying important biological information from the placenta to neurons in the fetal brain.
“We have long known what information travels between the placenta and the fetal brain, but we have never known how it gets there, explains Professor Cheryl Rosenfeld, who led the study, in a communicated. Extracellular vesicles are the missing link.”
Analysis of the placenta, towards an early diagnosis of neurological disorders
These results open up multiple therapeutic perspectives, according to the researcher. By taking samples, taken either during pregnancy from maternal blood or at birth from the placenta, doctors could make “early diagnosis of certain neurological pathologies such as schizophrenia or autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and even be able to prevent them”. Currently, in fact, people with neurological disorders may not be diagnosed before the appearance of clinical signs, often a few years after birth. “If abnormalities could be identified during pregnancy, interventions could begin much earlier.”
This is not the first time that Cheryl Rosenfeld has been interested in the exposure of the fetus to biological information transmitted by the mother. In 2022, she discovered that prenatal exposure to opioids could trigger neurological and behavioral changes later in the child’s life. A year earlier, she revealed that placentas exposed to bisphenol A via the mother could have a negative impact on fetal brain development in offspring.