New stem cell models reveal how earliest human placenta structures take shape

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Researchers at Columbia have developed stem-cell-derived organoids that model the earliest stages of human placenta formation. The models, described in Nature Cell Biology, may help scientists investigate how pregnancy begins and why it sometimes fails.

The placenta is essential for a healthy pregnancy, but the earliest steps of its formation have been hidden from scientific view. Now Columbia researchers led by Mijo Simunovic have created lab-grown organoids that reconstruct the earliest steps in human placenta formation, offering a powerful new tool for studying how pregnancy begins and why it often fails. The development of the 3D models is described in the current issue of Nature Cell Biology.