The placenta plays a key role in brain development

summary: A new study has focused on the placenta’s role in transporting essential biological materials to the fetal brain.

The findings reveal that extracellular vesicles from the placenta play a crucial role in this process, which may enable early diagnosis of neurological disorders such as autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia.

This work has also highlighted how prenatal exposure to drugs and chemicals affects long-term neurological and behavioral health.

Key facts:

1. Extracellular vesicles as transporters: Researchers have discovered that microscopic vesicles from the placenta are key to delivering biological information to the brain of the developing fetus.
2. Possibility of early diagnosis of the disorder: This research could lead to earlier recognition and potential prevention of neurobehavioral diseases, and change the approach to prenatal care and interventions.
3. Effect of prenatal exposure: Studies have also highlighted how substances such as opioids and BPA, when exposed to the fetus, can have long-term negative effects on brain development and behavior.

source: University of Missouri-Columbia

For 30 years, Cheryl Rosenfeld has studied how biological information is transferred from mothers to babies during pregnancy. The research is personal for Rosenfeld, whose niece Sarah was exposed to sedative medications in the womb. Although the little girl was born healthy, she began to suffer from respiratory, nervous and other health problems in her teenage years.

“Although I cannot reverse what happened to my niece, Sarah, I can try to prevent similar things from happening to other children by learning more about how biological information is transmitted during pregnancy,” said Rosenfeld, a professor of biomedical sciences at UCLA. University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine.

“The sooner we can identify abnormalities in fetal brain development, the sooner we can diagnose the potential for disorders to appear later in the child’s life.”

Special delivery

The placenta, the organ that develops in the uterus during pregnancy, has a big function. It allows the fetus to communicate with its mother by transferring proteins, lipids, small RNA and neurotransmitters to the fetal brain during pregnancy. For the first time – thanks to Rosenfeld’s latest study – researchers are learning exactly how Biological information is transferred to the developing brain.

Rosenfeld found that microscopic extracellular vesicles—tiny, bubble-like particles produced by placental cells—function as a protective “charge and deal” mechanism that relays important biological information from the placenta to budding neurons.

The findings could lead to early diagnosis of neurological disorders, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or schizophrenia.

“We’ve known for a long time what information is transmitted between the placenta and the fetal brain, but we never knew how it gets there,” Rosenfeld said. “Extracellular vesicles are the missing link.” By sampling these structures either during pregnancy via the mother’s blood or at birth via the placenta, this may lead to earlier diagnosis and the ability to prevent such neurobehavioral diseases.

Currently, individuals with neurological disorders may not be diagnosed until clinical signs and symptoms appear (which may not occur until the individual is a few years old). If disorders could be identified during pregnancy, interventions could begin much sooner, ultimately improving long-term health outcomes.

A leader in her field

Rosenfeld’s research has also helped scientists and health care professionals better understand how medications or chemicals exposed to the fetus through pregnant mothers can inadvertently cause long-term harm.

For example, her 2022 study found that prenatal exposure to opioids may lead to neurological and behavioral changes later in life. Her 2021 study found that placental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) from the mother can negatively affect fetal brain development.

In 2021, Rosenfeld was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in the Division of Medical Sciences for her efforts in advancing biomedical science and her distinguished contributions to the field of reproductive biology.

About neurodevelopmental research news

author: Brian Consiglio
source: University of Missouri-Columbia
communication: Brian Consiglio – University of Missouri-Columbia
picture: Image credited to Neuroscience News

Original search: Closed access.
“Extracellular vesicles from mouse trophoblast cells: effects on neural progenitor cells and potential participants in the placental-brain axis” by Cheryl Rosenfeld et al. Biology of reproduction

a summary

Extracellular vesicles from mouse trophoblast cells: effects on neural progenitor cells and potential participants in the placental-brain axis.

The fetal mouse brain is thought to depend on the placenta as a source of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) and other factors. How the factors reach the developing brain remains uncertain, but is hypothesized here to be part of the cargo carried by placental extracellular vesicles (EV).

We analyzed the protein, catecholamine, and small RNA content of EVs from mouse trophoblast stem cells (TSC) and TSC differentiated into parietal trophoblast giant cells (pTGC), potential primary providers of 5-HT. The present studies examined how exposure of murine neural progenitor cells (NPC) to EV from either TSC or pTGC affects their transcriptional profiles.

EV from trophoblast cells contained relatively high amounts of 5-HT, as well as dopamine and norepinephrine, but there were no significant differences between EV derived from pTGC and from TSC. However, the content of miRNA and small nuclear RNA (sno) varied according to the EV source, and snoRNA was up-regulated in EV from pTGC.

Primary inferred microRNA (miRNA) targets from both pTGC and TSC were mRNA enriched in the fetal brain. NPC readily internalized EV, resulting in changes in their transcriptional profiles.

The regulated transcripts were mainly those rich in neural tissue. Transcripts in EV-treated NPC that showed potential integration with miRNAs in EV were constitutively up-regulated rather than down-regulated, with functions associated with neuronal processes.

Our results are consistent with placenta-derived EV providing direct support for fetal brain development and being an integral part of the placental-brain axis.