ArticlePLoS pathogens2013
Placental syncytium forms a biophysical barrier against pathogen invasion.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers.
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Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 112 citations in OpenAlex.
- Altered Placental Ezrin Expression in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: An Immunohistochemical and Bioinformatic Analysis.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Assessing Mitochondrial Respiratory Complex-Associated Function From Previously Frozen Mouse Placental Tissue.Bio-protocol · 2026Article
- TORCH infections at the maternal-fetal placental transmission: an overview of multi-omics, pathogenesis and innate immune defense.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
- Polystyrene microplastics internalization by term placental chorionic villi explants.Placenta · 2026Review
- The multifactorial role of HDAC9 at the maternal-fetal interface in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.Clinical science (London, England : 1979) · 2025Review
- Innate immune responses to pathogens at the maternal-fetal interface.Nature reviews. Immunology · 2025Review
- Differential susceptibility of human placental trophoblasts to Trypanosoma cruzi infection.Parasitology research · 2025Article
- Persistent Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 (HTLV-1) Infection in the Placenta of Pregnant Women.Journal of medical virology · 2025Article
- Somatic polyploidy supports biosynthesis and tissue function by increasing transcriptional output.The Journal of cell biology · 2025Article
- Hyperglycemia enhances group BFrontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- A Review of Emerging Viral Pathogens and Current Concerns for Vertical Transmission of Infection.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2024Review
- Charting the Dynamic Trophoblast Plasma Membrane Identifies LYN As a Functional Regulator of Syncytialization.ACS chemical biology · 2024Article
- Vaccine strains of Rift Valley fever virus exhibit attenuation at the maternal-fetal placental interface.Journal of virology · 2024Article
- Demethylase FTO-mediated m6A modification of SIK1 modulates placental cytotrophoblast syncytialization in type 2 diabetes mellitus.iScience · 2024Article
- Pulmonary maternal immune activation does not cross the placenta but leads to fetal metabolic adaptation.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Vaccine strains of Rift Valley fever virus exhibit attenuation at the maternal-fetal placental interface.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Article
- Trophoblast Syncytialization: A Metabolic Crossroads.Results and problems in cell differentiation · 2024Article
- A stress paradox: the dual role of the unfolded protein response in the placenta.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Review
- Crossing the Barrier: A Comparative Study ofCells · 2023Review
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Fetal syncytiotrophoblasts form a unique fused multinuclear surface that is bathed in maternal blood, and constitutes the main interface between fetus and mother. Syncytiotrophoblasts are exposed to pathogens circulating in maternal blood, and appear to have unique resistance mechanisms against microbial invasion. These are due in part to the lack of intercellular junctions and their receptors, the Achilles heel of polarized mononuclear epithelia. However, the syncytium is immune to receptor-independent invasion as well, suggesting additional general defense mechanisms against infection. The difficulty of maintaining and manipulating primary human syncytiotrophoblasts in culture makes it challenging to investigate the cellular and molecular basis of host defenses in this unique tissue. Here we present a novel system to study placental pathogenesis using murine trophoblast stem cells (mTSC) that can be differentiated into syncytiotrophoblasts and recapitulate human placental syncytium. Consistent with previous results in primary human organ cultures, murine syncytiotrophoblasts were found to be resistant to infection with Listeria monocytogenes via direct invasion and cell-to-cell spread. Atomic force microscopy of murine syncytiotrophoblasts demonstrated that these cells have a greater elastic modulus than mononuclear trophoblasts. Disruption of the unusually dense actin structure--a diffuse meshwork of microfilaments--with Cytochalasin D led to a decrease in its elastic modulus by 25%. This correlated with a small but significant increase in invasion of L. monocytogenes into murine and human syncytium. These results suggest that the syncytial actin cytoskeleton may form a general barrier against pathogen entry in humans and mice. Moreover, murine TSCs are a genetically tractable model system for the investigation of specific pathways in syncytial host defenses.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.