Preeclampsia will be studied on an artificial placenta

3D bioprinted placenta model could be key to treating preeclampsia

3Dtoday based on 3Ders materials: 3D bioprinted placenta model could be the key to treating preeclampsia

Preeclampsia, a disease that usually occurs in late pregnancy, is one of the most common causes of complications and even death of mother and child. It occurs in 3-8% of pregnant women. Unfortunately, little is known about him for ethical reasons of the impossibility of examining pregnant women, so today there is only one way to deal with him: by causing premature birth. However, not so long ago, the doors to the mystery of preeclampsia opened a crack: scientists from the Sheikh Zayed Institute, operating under the National Children's Health Program, and researchers from the University of Maryland managed to print a placenta model.

The study of a 3D-bioprinted placenta model, the results of which were recently published in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering (Kuo et al., Development of a 3D Printed, Bioengineered Placenta Model to Evaluate the Role of Trophoblast Migration in Preeclampsia), may be the key to detecting the causes of preeclampsia, since the model completely simulates the cellular structure and the functions of this body. By observing and examining the placenta obtained by additive manufacturing from living cells, scientists have finally gained "unprecedented opportunities" to find treatments for placental diseases, including preeclampsia.

According to the researchers, they used a 3D-bioprinted placenta to observe and describe the migration process of trophoblasts (cells responsible for the nutrition of the embryo), which, as many believe, can cause preeclampsia. Here's what John P. Fisher, chairman of the Fishell Bioengineering Department at the University of Maryland, says: "In our study, using the example of a 3D bioprinted placenta, we studied and tried to understand the dynamics of cell migration during the formation of the placenta. The data we have obtained can become the basis for understanding the causes of preeclampsia and finding a treatment."

During the study of cellular, biochemical and extracellular matrix components, scientists were able to recreate and track the migration of trophoblasts, as well as the effect of epidermal growth factor (EFR) on the behavior of trophoblasts. They found that EFR, which is responsible for the growth, proliferation and differentiation of cells, has a positive effect on the trophoblasts of the 3D bioprinted placenta, which in turn can have a positive effect on the treatment of preeclampsia.

"The 3D model gives a much more visual representation of the behavior of cells," explains Che–Ying Kuo, a researcher from the Fishell Department of bioengineering at the University of Maryland. – Previously, we used a 2D model of the placenta, which only helped us understand that the cells are moving. But using the example of a 3D model, we saw how they move, where they move, whether they move together or separately."

The team of scientists enjoyed working with the 3D bioprinted model of the placenta so much that they plan to make several more detailed versions in order to continue the research and search for ways to treat such terrible diseases of the placenta as preeclampsia, as well as placenta accretion and placenta previa. The significance of this study is exceptional, because in the future it can help save the lives of many mothers and babies.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  26.05.2016