Innovative Full-Term Placental Stem Cells Offer New Insights into Late-Pregnancy Complications

Recent advances in reproductive health research have led to the development of human placental stem cells derived from full-term pregnancies, a breakthrough that could significantly enhance our understanding of late-stage pregnancy complications. Traditionally, studies focused on placental cells from early pregnancy, which limited insights into conditions such as preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, and placental abruption typically diagnosed later in pregnancy. Researchers at Kyoto University, led by Professor Masatsugu Ema and Assistant Professor Masanaga Muto, have now isolated trophoblast stem cells from the outer fetal membrane known as the smooth chorion, taken from full-term placentas. These newly established stem cell lines, named Ch-TS cells, retain the capacity to develop into the essential cell types necessary for placental function, including extravillous trophoblasts that invade maternal tissue and syncytiotrophoblasts involved in nutrient and oxygen exchange. This discovery overturns previous assumptions that such cells could not be derived from full-term placentas, providing a relevant model for studying late-pregnancy pathologies. The research, published in the journal Placenta, confirms that these Ch-TS cells mirror the gene expression profiles of early-stage trophoblast stem cells and exhibit the ability to differentiate into key placental cell types, thus serving as a promising platform for investigating pregnancy-related disorders. The use of full-term placental tissues sidesteps many ethical concerns and enables scientists to develop laboratory models that more accurately simulate the conditions occurring during critical phases of pregnancy. Studying these trophoblast stem cells from the smooth chorion may unlock new pathways to diagnose, prevent, and treat conditions affecting mothers and their babies during late pregnancy, opening doors for improved maternal-fetal health outcomes.