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The University of Southampton
Medicine

Southampton researchers to study placentas from different species

Published: 5 August 2019
Fetus

Researchers at the University of Southampton will study placental structure from different species to develop a better understanding of what structures are important in the human placenta and how these support healthy pregnancies.

The multidisciplinary study, which is being funded by the Leverhulme Trust, will use advanced microscopy techniques to generate three-dimensional images of the smallest structures in the placenta.

The aim is to determine whether the unique nanoscale structures in human placenta have been evolutionarily conserved.

Samples will be collected from both domestic species and exotic species collected from zoos.

Professor Rohan Lewis, a Placental Physiologist at the University, said: “Different species have incredibly diverse placental structures, reflecting how evolutionary pressures shape the placenta to optimise fetal survival. We will explore the different ways biological structures can achieve the same outcomes, for example fetal survival, and may help explain why placental structures are so diverse."

Professor Lewis will work with Dr Neil Gostling, a Palaeontologist and Evolutionary Biologist from the University’s Institute for Life Sciences, in the state-of-the-art 3D imaging facilities available in the Biomedical imaging unit and muVis centre. 

Dr Gostling added: “The placenta is fascinating from an evolutionary point of view because its anatomy is so different between different species of mammals. These differences may exist because they eat different foods and different types of placenta are better at getting the right nutrients from these foods. Alternatively, mammals in different environments may be exposed to different parasites and the changes in placental structure may protect the fetus from parasites while still providing the right food to the fetus. Understanding what the differences in placental structure are is the first step to understanding the reasons for them.”

 

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