Untangling the Maze

In a new study in mice conducted with advanced MRI methods, Weizmann Institute scientists have now revealed in unprecedented detail the dynamics of the flow of fluids within the placenta. This feat was all the more impressive, as a mouse placenta is around the size of a dime. As reported recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, (PNAS), USA, they managed to identify three different types of fluid-filled structures: maternal blood vessels, which account for two-thirds of blood flow in the placenta; fetal vessels, which account for about one-quarter of the flow; and embryo-derived cells infiltrating the mother’s vasculature – which account for the rest of the flow and in which the exchange of fluids between mother and fetus takes place. The researchers also found that in maternal vessels, blood flows by diffusion, whereas in fetal vessels, the flow, stimulated by the pumping of the growing fetus’s heart, is much faster. In the cells that had infiltrated the mother’s vasculature, the dynamics of the flow follows an intermediate pattern, driven by both diffusion and pumping.

Two sophisticated MRI methods were combined to enable the study: one geared toward monitoring diffusion and another directed at identifying structures with the help of a contrast material. They could be applied successfully in large part thanks to an innovative scanning approach, spatiotemporal encoding (SPEN), a Weizmann Institute technique. Because SPEN is ultrafast and makes it possible to separately encode signals from such different materials as air or fat, it allowed the researchers to overcome disturbances created by movement and the variability of placental tissue.

 

If developed further for safe and reliable use in humans, this combined approach holds great promise as a noninvasive means of detecting fetal distress caused by disruptions in the placental flow. It can be particularly valuable when fast decisions about inducing labor need to be made, for example, in such complications of pregnancy as preeclampsia.

 

The study was a joint effort of two laboratories: one headed by Prof. Michal Neeman of the Biological Regulation Department and the other by Prof. Lucio Frydman of the Chemical Physics Department. The research was performed by two graduate students, Reut Avni from Neeman’s lab and Eddy Solomon from Frydman’s lab, together with Ron Hadas and Dr. Tal Raz of the Biological Regulation Department and Dr. Peter Bendel of Chemical Research Support, in collaboration with Prof. Joel Richard Garbow from Washington University in St. Louis.

Prof. Michal Neeman’s research is supported by the Henry Chanoch Krenter Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Genomics, which she heads; the Clore Center for Biological Physics,’which she heads; the Kirk Center for Childhood Cancer and Immunological Disorders, which she heads; the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust; the Carolito Stiftung; the Foundation Adelis; Andrew Adelson, Canada; the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation; and a Seventh Framework European Research Council Advanced Grant. Prof. Neeman is the incumbent of the Helen and Morris Mauerberger Professorial Chair in Biological Sciences.