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The placenta in fetal growth restriction: What is going wrong?

Cherry Sun1, Katie M Groom2, Charlotte Oyston1

  • 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, 85 Park Road, Grafton, Auckland, 1023, New Zealand.

Placenta
|May 19, 2020
PubMed

The placenta is essential for the efficient delivery of nutrients and oxygen from mother to fetus to maintain normal fetal growth. Dysfunctional placental development underpins many pregnancy complications, including fetal growth restriction (FGR) a condition in which the fetus does not reach its growth potential. The FGR placenta is smaller than normal placentae throughout gestation and displays maldevelopment of both the placental villi and the fetal vasculature within these villi. Specialized epithelial cells called trophoblasts exhibit abnormal function and development in FGR placentae. This includes an altered balance between proliferation and apoptotic death, premature cellular senescence, and reduced colonisation of the maternal decidual tissue. Thus, the placenta undergoes aberrant changes at the macroscopic to cellular level in FGR, which can limit exchange capacity and downstream fetal growth. This review aims to compile stereological, in vitro, and imaging data to create a holistic overview of the FGR placenta and its pathophysiology, with a focus on the contribution of trophoblasts.

Keywords:
Fetal growth restrictionPlacental developmentSmall for gestational ageTrophoblast

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