Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Centre for Trophoblast Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Nat Protoc. 2020 Oct;15(10):3441-3463. doi: 10.1038/s41596-020-0381-x. Epub 2020 Sep 9.
The human placenta is essential for successful reproduction. There is great variation in the anatomy and development of the placenta in different species, meaning that animal models provide limited information about human placental development and function. Until recently, it has been impossible to isolate trophoblast cells from the human placenta that proliferate in vitro. This has limited our ability to understand pregnancy disorders. Generating an in vitro model that recapitulates the unique features of the human placenta has been challenging. The first in vitro model system of human trophoblast that could be cultured long term and differentiated to syncytiotrophoblast (SCT) and extravillous trophoblast (EVT) was a two-dimensional (2D) culture system of human trophoblast stem cells. Here, we describe a protocol to isolate trophoblast from first-trimester human placentas that can be grown long term in a three-dimensional (3D) organoid culture system. Trophoblast organoids can be established within 2-3 weeks, passaged every 7-10 d, and cultured for over a year. The structural organization of these human trophoblast organoids closely resembles the villous placenta with a layer of cytotrophoblast (VCT) that differentiates into superimposed SCT. Altering the composition of the medium leads to differentiation of the trophoblast organoids into HLA-G+ EVT cells which rapidly migrate and invade through the Matrigel droplet in which they are cultured. Our previous research confirmed that there is similarity between the trophoblast organoids and in vivo placentas in their transcriptomes and ability to produce placental hormones. This organoid culture system provides an experimental model to investigate human placental development and function as well as interactions of trophoblast cells with the local and systemic maternal environment.
人类胎盘对于成功繁殖至关重要。不同物种的胎盘在解剖结构和发育上存在很大差异,这意味着动物模型提供的关于人类胎盘发育和功能的信息有限。直到最近,还不可能从胎盘组织中分离出能够在体外增殖的滋养层细胞。这限制了我们对妊娠疾病的理解能力。生成能够重现人类胎盘独特特征的体外模型一直具有挑战性。第一个能够长期在体外培养并分化为合胞滋养层(SCT)和细胞滋养层外胚层(EVT)的人类滋养层体外模型系统是人类滋养层干细胞的二维(2D)培养系统。在这里,我们描述了一种从人类胎盘组织中分离滋养层的方案,该方法可以在三维(3D)类器官培养系统中长期培养。滋养层类器官可以在 2-3 周内建立,每隔 7-10 天传代一次,并且可以培养一年以上。这些人类滋养层类器官的结构组织与绒毛胎盘非常相似,有一层细胞滋养层(VCT)分化为重叠的 SCT。改变培养基的组成会导致滋养层类器官分化为 HLA-G+EVT 细胞,这些细胞迅速迁移并穿过它们所培养的 Matrigel 液滴浸润。我们之前的研究证实,在转录组和产生胎盘激素的能力方面,滋养层类器官与体内胎盘之间存在相似性。这种类器官培养系统为研究人类胎盘的发育和功能以及滋养层细胞与局部和全身母体环境的相互作用提供了一个实验模型。
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