Tiny blood clots help guide blood flow as placenta develops, mouse study finds

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A mouse-model study by Hannover Medical School researchers found that tiny, localized blood clots at the interface of maternal and embryonic tissue help regulate blood flow during placental development. The findings shed light on how the placenta takes over nutrient delivery as pregnancy progresses.

During pregnancy, the human embryo is initially supplied with nutrients through the yolk sac; later, the placenta takes over this role. It consists of maternal and embryonic tissue, through whose blood vessels the mother's blood flows. An interdisciplinary research team at Hannover Medical School (MHH) has demonstrated in a mouse model that tiny, localized blood clots at the interface between maternal and embryonic tissue play an important regulatory role during placental development.