Evolutionary Perspectives into Placental Biology and Disease

Overview

Journal Appl Transl Genom

Specialty Genetics

Date 2016 Nov 30

PMID 27896057

Citations 6

Authors

Edward B Chuong

Roberta L Hannibal

Sherril L Green

Julie C Baker

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In all mammals including humans, development takes place within the protective environment of the maternal womb. Throughout gestation, nutrients and waste products are continuously exchanged between mother and fetus through the placenta. Despite the clear importance of the placenta to successful pregnancy and the health of both mother and offspring, relatively little is understood about the biology of the placenta and its role in pregnancy-related diseases. Given that pre- and peri-natal diseases involving the placenta affect millions of women and their newborns worldwide, there is an urgent need to understand placenta biology and development. Here, we suggest that the placenta is an organ under unique selective pressures that have driven its rapid diversification throughout mammalian evolution. The high divergence of the placenta complicates the use of non-human animal models and necessitates an evolutionary perspective when studying its biology and role in disease. We suggest that diversifying evolution of the placenta is primarily driven by intraspecies evolutionary conflict between mother and fetus, and that many pregnancy diseases are a consequence of this evolutionary force. Understanding how maternal-fetal conflict shapes both basic placental and reproductive biology - in all species - will provide key insights into diseases of pregnancy.

Citing Articles

Identification of altered miRNAs and their targets in placenta accreta.

Murrieta-Coxca J, Barth E, Fuentes-Zacarias P, Gutierrez-Samudio R, Groten T, Gellhaus A Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023; 14:1021640.

PMID: 36936174 PMC: 10022468. DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1021640.

Imprinted MicroRNA Gene Clusters in the Evolution, Development, and Functions of Mammalian Placenta.

Malnou E, Umlauf D, Mouysset M, Cavaille J Front Genet. 2019; 9:706.

PMID: 30713549 PMC: 6346411. DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2018.00706.

Anthropoid primate-specific retroviral element THE1B controls expression of CRH in placenta and alters gestation length.

Dunn-Fletcher C, Muglia L, Pavlicev M, Wolf G, Sun M, Hu Y PLoS Biol. 2018; 16(9):e2006337.

PMID: 30231016 PMC: 6166974. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2006337.

Placenta Accreta Spectrum: A Review of Pathology, Molecular Biology, and Biomarkers.

Bartels H, Postle J, Downey P, Brennan D Dis Markers. 2018; 2018:1507674.

PMID: 30057649 PMC: 6051104. DOI: 10.1155/2018/1507674.

(Re)generating Human Beta Cells: Status, Pitfalls, and Perspectives.

Baeyens L, Lemper M, Staels W, De Groef S, De Leu N, Heremans Y Physiol Rev. 2018; 98(3):1143-1167.

PMID: 29717931 PMC: 6088144. DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00034.2016.

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