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Updated: Mar 24, 2026

Ex vivo Culture of Human Placental Explants for the Study of Viral Transmission Across the Maternal-Fetal Interface
Published on: December 30, 2025
The Placenta as a Barrier to Viral Infections
Elizabeth Delorme-Axford1, Yoel Sadovsky1,2, Carolyn B Coyne1,2
1Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219;
Abstract:
Throughout pregnancy, the placenta acts as a physical and immunological barrier against the hematogenous transmission of viruses from mother to fetus. Despite this, very little is known regarding the specific mechanisms by which the placenta shields the developing fetus from viral infections or about the strategies utilized by select viruses to bypass and/or weaken the placental barrier. In this review, we summarize studies regarding virus-host interactions at the placental interface and explore key areas for future investigation. We focus our review on placental trophoblasts, which form the barrier between maternal and fetal circulations and thus govern the cross talk between the maternal and fetal microenvironments.
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07:04Human Placental and Decidual Organ Cultures to Study Infections at the Maternal-fetal Interface
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