Ultrastructural differentiation of stromal and vascular components in early macaque placental villi

In this study, closely staged placental villi from rhesus monkeys between 19 and 60 days of gestation were used to examine 1) the origin of endothelial cells and the mechanism of angiogenesis in villi; 2) the origin of placental macrophages (Hofbauer cells), and 3) the origin of the reticular cells that compartmentalize the stroma. The results did not support the concept that early stromal cells in the villi were derived by in situ delamination from cytotrophoblast. The extraembryonic mesodermal (mesenchymal) cells at the earliest of ages examined contained considerable granular ER. These cells organized into groups and formed primitive intercellular junctions, thus giving rise to the early angioblastic masses. The angioblastic masses were cellular, not syncytial; and lumen formation was not the result of intracellular vacuolization, but rather was the result of the acquisition of junctionally defined spaces. The earliest capillaries lacked intravascular blood cells and a basal lamina. Later, blood cells were evident in the lumina. At about 45-50 days of gestation, fetal capillaries began to indent the basal surface of the trophoblast. The basal lamina of the fetal capillaries still had not developed by 60 days of gestation. Between 35 and 40 days of gestation, significant morphological changes took place in the villous stroma. Evidence was obtained that the mesenchymal cells differentiated into the reticular cells that subdivided the stroma into fibril-rich and fibril-free compartments. At the same time, Hofbauer cells were observed for the first time; they occupied the fibril-free regions of the stroma. We did not observe any clear indications of intermediate stages of differentiation between other stromal cell types and Hofbauer cells. It is suggested that placental macrophages may have an origin independent of other stromal types; one possibility is that they are derived from blood monocytes as in other tissues. It is further suggested that the activities of the macrophages and reticular cells may be important in remodeling the extracellular matrix and may be related to the process of branching morphogenesis in the villi.