• UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine
U Magazine

U Magazine

U Magazine
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Centennial Campaign for UCLA Issue
  • Browse U Magazine
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine

U Magazine

Browse U Magazine

  1. Home
  2. Browse U Magazine
Share this
The Cutting Edge

Helping to Clarify Cause of Pregnancy Complications

Researchers at UCLA’s Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research have identified a specific type of cell and a related cell-communication pathway that are key to the successful growth of a healthy placenta. The findings could greatly bolster our knowledge about the potential causes of complications during pregnancy.

Specifically, the findings could help scientists clarify the particular order in which progenitor cells grow in the placenta, which would allow researchers to track fetal development and identify complications. Progenitor cells are cells that develop into other cells and that initiate growth of the placenta.

The study was led by Hanna Mikkola, MD, PhD, associate professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology, and fellow Masaya Ueno, PhD.

The placenta is the organ that forms inside the uterus during pregnancy and enables oxygen and nutrients to reach the fetus, but little is understood about the biological mechanisms and cellular processes responsible for this interface. Studying mouse models, Dr. Mikkola and her colleagues tracked individual cells in the placenta to determine which cells and which cell-communication routes, or signaling pathways, were responsible for the healthy development of the placenta. The UCLA team was the first to identify the cells that form the placenta: Epcamhi labyrinth trophoblast progenitors, or LaTP cells, can become the various cells necessary to form a specific tissue, in this case the placenta.

Dr. Mikkola and her colleagues also found a signaling pathway that consists of hepatocyte growth factor and its receptor, c-Met. The researchers found that this signaling pathway was required for the placenta to keep making LaTP cells. Production of LaTP cells, in turn, continues the production of the different cells needed to maintain the growth and health of the placenta while the fetus is growing. Placental health enables the healthy transmission of oxygen and nutrients through the exchange of blood between the fetus and the mother. In the mice, when c-Met signaling stopped, fetal growth slowed, the liver did not develop fully and it produced fewer blood cells, and the fetus died.

“Identifying this novel c-Met–dependent multipotent labyrinth trophoblast progenitor is a landmark that may help us understand pregnancy complications, such as fetal growth restriction, that are caused by defective placental exchange,” Dr. Mikkola says.

“c-Met-Dependent Multipotent Labyrinth Trophoblast Progenitors Establish Placental Exchange Interface,” Developmental Cell, November 25, 2013


Previous
U.S. Ranks Near Bottom in Efficiency of Healthcare Spending
Next
Is Sexual Addiction the Real Deal?


YOU ARE VIEWING

Spring 2014

Spring 2014
E-Brochure
Printable PDF
IN THIS ISSUE
  • Meeting the Future Challenge
  • Letters to the Editor
  • ‘Smart’ Mannequins Breathe Life into Medical Scenarios
  • To Lower Cholesterol, You Say Tomato
  • Danger in Disguise: Brain-cancer Cells Can ‘Hide’ from Drugs
  • Context Counts for Anxious Teens, Kids
  • Disrupted Maternal Bond Can Alter Child’s Brain
  • You Are What You Eat: Low-fat Diet with Fish Oil Changes Prostate-cancer Tissue
  • Early Imaging, Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Leads to Better Outcomes
  • U.S. Ranks Near Bottom in Efficiency of Healthcare Spending
  • Helping to Clarify Cause of Pregnancy Complications
  • Is Sexual Addiction the Real Deal?
  • Mini Med School May 5, 12 & 19
  • Cancer Care in Crisis
  • Clocked!
  • A Family Affair
  • Zinging the Blues
  • Up for a Challenge
  • Awards/Honors
  • East Meets West
  • In Her Own Words: Nisha Abdul Cader, MD ’95
  • Postcard from Vietnam
  • An Illuminating Evening
  • Mobile Clinic Project at UCLA
  • Events
  • Gifts
  • UCLA Health Board Annual Meeting Provides Inspiration
  • Letter from Erbil
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest
UCLA Health hospitals ranked best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report
  • UCLA Health
  • Find a Doctor
  • School of Medicine
  • School of Nursing
  • UCLA Campus
  • Directory
  • Newsroom
  • Subscribe
  • Patient Stories
  • Giving
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • International Services
  • Privacy Practices
  • Nondiscrimination
  • Billing
  • Health Plans
  • Emergency
  • Report Broken Links
  • Terms of Use
  • 1-310-825-2631
  • Maps & Directions
  • Contact Us
  • Your Feedback
  • Report Misconduct
  • Get Social
  • Sitemap
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest

Sign in to myUCLAhealth

Learn more about myUCLAhealth