Placenta

Research Topic

Placenta is a newly formed organ during pregnancy, that shows multifunctional properties. It serves as an interface between the mother and the child and ensures continuous exchange of nutrients, gasses and metabolites. In addition, it prevents the rejection of the fetus by the maternal immune system and produces hormones and growth factors to maintain the pregnancy. Ultimately, acts as a barrier for xenobiotics, either by enzymatic deactivation or by exporting them back to the maternal circulation. However, some xenobiotics can be either accumulated and/or transferred through the placenta, potentially endangering the fetal development and health. With this project we aim to understand to what level ubiquitous environmental pollutants change the placental morphology and physiology. This will provide us with useful information regarding any involvement of environmental pollutants into maternal and fetal health complications.


Team

Working Group Leader

Dr. Violeta Stojanovska

Team members

Dr. Stefan Röder

Sergio Gomez Olarte

Stembridge Ayuk

Yu Xia

Lukas Karl Röhrig

Susanne Arnold


Projects supported by third-party funds

Third-party donor Project Coordinator
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) PlacentAGE: Elucidating the effects of advanced maternal age on placenta with trophoblast organoids Dr. Violeta Stojanovska