Flow and transport in the human placenta: from multiscale imaging to structural determinants of function #

Igor Chernyavsky, Alys Clark, Alexander Erlich, Oliver Jensen, Philip Pearce, Win Tun, Carl Whitfield, et al.

12:30 Monday in 4Q56.

Part of the Physiological flows and transport session.

Abstract #

Multiscale characterisation of biological tissues and organs is essential to gain insight into their structure–function relationship [1,2]. The human placenta is one of the most complex and unique, evolutionarily distinct organs. It is a crucial life-support system that not only nourishes a growing fetus but also determines their life-long health. The placental exchange units, terminal villi, host numerous dense networks of fetal capillaries and are interfaced with maternal blood, percolating a disordered porous medium. Despite its complexity, the placenta is remarkably robust in some situations while it fails in others, and we still lack understanding of the placental role in many pregnancy pathologies [2]. This talk summarises recent progress in massively multiscale 3D microscopy (covering the range of µm to cm) and its assimilation into mathematical models of placental transport [1]. The models explore a relationship between this organ’s architecture and function, quantify the associated uncertainty and demonstrate certain universality of upscaled approximations for a wide class of transported solutes [3]. The developed approaches could also be applied to characterising solute exchange in other complex microvascular systems.

References [1]. Tun WM, et al. (2021) J R Soc Interface 18:20210140 (doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2021.0140). [2]. Jensen OE & Chernyavsky IL (2019) Annu Rev Fluid Mech 51:25 (doi.org/10.1146/annurev-fluid-010518-040219). [3]. Erlich A, et al. (2019) Sci Adv 5:eaav6326 (doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav6326).