Original title: Study converts human skin cells into placental cells
Xinhua News Agency, Jerusalem, June 25 (Reporter Wang Zhuolun) The Hebrew University of Israel recently issued a statement stating that a team led by researchers at the school successfully transformed human skin cells into placental cells. This research achievement will help the research on pregnancy-related diseases and diagnosis and treatment.
Obtaining cells directly from human placenta is not easy due to technical and ethical constraints, the researchers said. Therefore, they tried to “reprogram” the cells to convert skin cells into placental cells for research on placental function and pregnancy complications. Related papers have been published in the British journal Nature Communications.
Trophoblastic stem cells are the precursor cells of placental cells. The research team first identified a set of genes that control the identity of trophoblast stem cells, and induced the expression of these genes in skin cells, successfully transforming skin cells into functionally stable trophoblast stem cells.
According to the researchers, these induced trophoblast stem cells have similar characteristics to cells obtained in early pregnancy and have the ability to generate different placental cell subtypes. They also used a pregnancy test to quickly assess these “reprogrammed” cells — cells that make several pregnancy hormones, including human chorionic gonadotropin.
The statement said the research has important implications for understanding pregnancy progression, infertility and pregnancy-related disorders.