RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Circulating Placental Extracellular Vesicles and Their Potential Roles During Pregnancy
JF Ochsner Journal
JO Ochsner J
FD O. P. Jindal Global University
SP 439
OP 445
DO 10.31486/toj.20.0049
VO 20
IS 4
A1 Angela Nakahara
A1 Soumyalekshmi Nair
A1 Valeska Ormazabal
A1 Omar Elfeky
A1 Cathryn E. Garvey
A1 Sherri Longo
A1 Carlos Salomon
YR 2020
UL http://www.ochsnerjournal.org/content/20/4/439.abstract
AB Background: Numerous changes in maternal physiology occur during pregnancy that are critical in controlling and maintaining the maternal metabolic adaptations and fetal development. The placenta is the key source through which the fetus receives nutrients, blood, and oxygen for growth. The human placenta releases several molecules into maternal circulation that include hormones, proteins, RNA, and DNA throughout the course of pregnancy. Additionally, extracellular vesicles (EVs) originating from the placenta have been found in the maternal circulation.Methods: In this review, we discuss the role of EVs in maternal-fetal communication during pregnancy.Results: EVs originating from the placenta can be divided into 3 categories based on their size and/or origin: exosomes (50 to 150 nm), microvesicles (nm to several μm), and apoptotic bodies or syncytial nuclear aggregates (>1 μm). The cellular microenvironment—such as oxygen tension and glucose concentration—have been found to control EV release from the placenta and their bioactivity on target cells. Furthermore, maternal EVs can stimulate cytokine release from endothelial cells and are involved in several physiologic and pathologic events in pregnancy.Conclusion: Exosomes provide a way to identify the function and metabolic state of cell origin through their ability to reflect the microenvironment that they are released from. Further understanding of how EVs regulate key events in pregnancy may help elucidate how maternal-fetal communication is established in both normal and pathologic conditions.