Given the success of the
Maternal-Fetal Interface: New Insight in Placenta Research, we are pleased to announce the launch of Volume II.
The placenta is a fascinating and ephemeral organ of life, which fulfils several functions to create and maintain optimal in utero conditions for fetal development and programming. During its short period of time in the intrauterine cavity, the fetus is dependent on the placenta as a lung, liver and kidneys. Functionally, the placenta is a highly specialized organ, which represents the interface between the mother and the fetus and is essential for fetal development and growth.
Apart from enabling oxygen and nutrient exchange, the placenta produces various hormones, neurotransmitters and other factors that regulate fetal development. Extensive research over the last three decades has shown that a balanced interplay of genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors is critical and must be maintained during the whole period of gestation so that the architecture and programming of a growing fetus can develop properly. Nevertheless, physiological alterations or insults occurring during pregnancy (such as pathologies, medication, malnutrition) may disrupt this balance and lead to poor pregnancy outcomes. The timing of internal/external alterations in pregnancy will result in different effects on fetal development and/or programming.
This Research Topic will bring together research that addresses the new insights in maternal fetal interface research in health and disease. We welcome original research articles, clinical studies, reviews, and perspectives toward understanding the Maternal-Fetal interface.
Specific themes include, but are not limited to:
1. Transport and metabolism of placenta
2. Transcriptome and epigenome of trophoblast
3. Pregnancy diseases
4. Metabolism studies on placenta organoids
5. Lipidomic on Health and Diseases of Pregnancy
6. COVID-pregnancy and vaccines
7. Animal and cell models for study of pregnancy pathologies
8. Biology of trophoblast
9. Extracellular vesicles in pregnancy
10. Role of placenta in fetal programming
11. Brain-placental axis