Dundee researchers have developed a 3D placenta-on-a-chip model which they say has the potential to ‘revolutionise’ treatment for pregnancy-related conditions.

A University of Dundee medical research team has developed iPlacenta to enable detailed examination of the placenta in 3D for the first time – and without risk to a mother or foetus.

Collaborating with 3D tissue experts MIMETAS, researchers have developed the miniature models from stem cells, perfectly replicating the organ’s workings.

Gwenaëlle Rabussier, scientist at MIMETAS, says this represents a “giant leap” for medical research:

“Organ-on-a-chip technology is a giant leap forward in understanding the diseases of the placenta.

“Organs are three-dimensional objects, but until now medical research has been conducted in just two dimensions.”

Supported by £3.9m over the last four years, the team say this 3D model could be used by the pharmaceutical industry to investigate interactions between drugs and the placenta.

Formed in the uterus during pregnancy, the placenta helps deliver nutrients to the foetus and removes waste products via multi-layer specialised cells which enables selective exchange as the foetus develops.

In doing so, it plays a vital role in protecting the foetus, though viruses can still be transmitted. Yet, the placenta is one of the least studied organs in medical science.

Now, Dr Colin Murdoch, who led the iPlacenta project, says that the innovative technology expands the current research capacity for understanding and examining the placenta:

“At present, cell lines from cancer are used to examine diseases of the placenta but this is not entirely appropriate.

“Obtaining placentas at the early stage that we need to study them is incredibly hard, and that is where iPlacenta can address that need.”

Pre-eclampsia

Dysfunction in the placenta can increase the health risks and even jeopardise the life of both foetus and mother, the researchers explain – with the British Heart Foundation stating that conditions such as pre-eclampsia affect as many as one in 25 UK pregnancies.

Despite the prevalence of pre-eclampsia, which can lead to babies being delivered early or failing to grow as expected, little is known about its cause or effective treatments.

Evidence suggests low dose aspirin or calcium supplements can reduce the likelihood of developing pre-eclampsia, but more research is needed to better understand the risks.

Dr Murdoch, iPlacenta project lead, says this breakthrough technology could revolutionise research into this condition and others:

“We still know relatively little about pre-eclampsia, despite its potential to affect every pregnancy.

“Just a tiny fraction of the most common drugs used by women in pregnancy have excellent safety data behind them.

“However, iPlacenta can be utilised by the pharmaceutical industry to research the interaction between drugs and the placenta. This allows drug companies to look at the organ in a more physiological format and could have a potentially transformative impact on medical care for pregnant women.”

With the aim to address the urgent need in pregnancy care, Dr Murdoch and the Dundee team started working on iPlacenta in 2019, alongside MIMETAS, using skin stem cells to grow human placentas in their organ-on-a-chip platform.

This platform, OrganoPlate, can hold around 40 micro-placentas which mimic the workings of the full-sized placenta and can be used for testing without impacting patient health or resorting to animal testing.

Gwenaëlle Rabussier from MIMETAS, says:

“Working on this project has been exciting as it opens tremendous opportunities for unravelling placental mysteries associated with placental barrier drug transfer and pathologies such as pre-eclampsia. This contribution to enhancing women’s health is a tremendous source of pride for us.”

With funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant, the iPlacenta project will be looking to complete further studies with stem cells from different patients.

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