Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2025
Human Placental and Decidual Organ Cultures to Study Infections at the Maternal-fetal Interface
Published on: July 21, 2016
Updates of placental macrophages: Origins, molecular markers, functions, and related diseases
Huixia Yang1, Anca Chelariu-Raicu1, Dimitra Makri1
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
Placental macrophages are highly heterogeneous cells with differential phenotypes and functions defined by differential origins and modulated by the changing placental environment. During pregnancy, placental macrophages play a critical role in embryo implantation, placenta formation and homeostasis, fetal development and parturition. This review summarizes recent findings on the cellular origin of placental macrophages, and provide a comprehensive description of their phenotypes, corresponding molecular markers and functions in human placenta. Finally, alterations of placental macrophages in pregnancy-related diseases are discussed.
Placental macrophages are highly heterogeneous cells with differential phenotypes and functions defined by differential origins and modulated by the changing placental environment. During pregnancy, placental macrophages play a critical role in embryo implantation, placenta formation and homeostasis, fetal development and parturition. This review summarizes recent findings on the cellular origin of placental macrophages, and provide a comprehensive description of their phenotypes, corresponding molecular markers and functions in human placenta. Finally, alterations of placental macrophages in pregnancy-related diseases are discussed.
