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Link-Sourani D, Avisdris N, Harel S, Ben-Sira L, Ganot T, Gordon Z, Many A, Ben Bashat D. Ex-Vivo MRI of the Normal Human Placenta: Structural-Functional Interplay and the Association With Birth Weight. J Magn Reson Imaging 2021; 56:134-144. [PMID: 34799945 DOI: 10.1002/jmri.28002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Revised: 11/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods are increasingly being used to assess the human placenta. Yet, the structure-function interplay in normal placentas and their associations with pregnancy risks are not fully understood. PURPOSE To characterize the normal human placental structure (volume and umbilical cord centricity index (CI)) and function (perfusion) ex-vivo using MRI, to assess their association with birth weight (BW), and identify imaging-markers for placentas at risk for dysfunction. STUDY TYPE Prospective. POPULATION Twenty normal term ex-vivo placentas. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE 3 T/ T1 and T2 weighted (T1 W, T2 W) turbo spin-echo, three-dimensional susceptibility-weighted image, and time-resolved angiography with interleaved stochastic trajectories (TWIST), during passage of a contrast agent using MRI compatible perfusion system that mimics placental flow. ASSESSMENT Placental volume and CI were manually extracted from the T1 W images by a fetal-placental MRI scientist (D.L., 7 years of experience). Perfusion maps including bolus arrival-time and full-width at half maximum were calculated from the TWIST data. Mean values, entropy, and asymmetries were calculated from each perfusion map, relating to both the whole placenta and volumes of interest (VOIs) within the umbilical cord and its daughter blood vessels. STATISTICAL TESTS Pearson correlations with correction for multiple comparisons using false discovery rate were performed between structural and functional parameters, and with BW, with P < 0.05 considered significant. RESULTS All placentas were successfully perfused and scanned. Significant correlations were found between whole placenta and VOIs perfusion parameters (mean R = 0.76 ± 0.06, range = 0.67-0.89), which were also significantly correlated with CI (mean R = 0.72 ± 0.05, range = 0.65-0.79). BW was correlated with placental volume (R = 0.62), but not with CI (P = 0.40). BW was also correlated with local perfusion asymmetry (R = -0.71). DATA CONCLUSION Results demonstrate a gradient of placental function, associated with CI and suggest several ex-vivo imaging-markers that might indicate an increased risk for placental dysfunction. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 1 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 1.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Netanell Avisdris
- Sagol Brain Institute, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.,School of Computer Science and Engineering, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Shaul Harel
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Pediatric Neurology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Liat Ben-Sira
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Division of Pediatric Radiology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Tuvia Ganot
- Sagol Brain Institute, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Zoya Gordon
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Lis Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Department of Medical Engineering, Afeka, Tel Aviv Academic College of Engineering, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Ariel Many
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Lis Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Dafna Ben Bashat
- Sagol Brain Institute, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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2
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Di Filippo JI, Bollini M, Cavasotto CN. A Machine Learning Model to Predict Drug Transfer Across the Human Placenta Barrier. Front Chem 2021; 9:714678. [PMID: 34354979 PMCID: PMC8329444 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2021.714678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of computational models for assessing the transfer of chemicals across the placental membrane would be of the utmost importance in drug discovery campaigns, in order to develop safe therapeutic options. We have developed a low-dimensional machine learning model capable of classifying compounds according to whether they can cross or not the placental barrier. To this aim, we compiled a database of 248 compounds with experimental information about their placental transfer, characterizing each compound with a set of ∼5.4 thousand descriptors, including physicochemical properties and structural features. We evaluated different machine learning classifiers and implemented a genetic algorithm, in a five cross validation scheme, to perform feature selection. The optimization was guided towards models displaying a low number of false positives (molecules that actually cross the placental barrier, but are predicted as not crossing it). A Linear Discriminant Analysis model trained with only four structural features resulted to be robust for this task, exhibiting only one false positive case across all testing folds. This model is expected to be useful in predicting placental drug transfer during pregnancy, and thus could be used as a filter for chemical libraries in virtual screening campaigns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan I Di Filippo
- Computational Drug Design and Biomedical Informatics Laboratory, Instituto de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional (IIMT), CONICET-Universidad Austral, Pilar, Argentina.,Facultad de Ciencias Biomédicas and Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Austral, Pilar, Argentina.,Austral Institute for Applied Artificial Intelligence, Universidad Austral, Pilar, Argentina
| | - Mariela Bollini
- Centro de Investigaciones en BioNanociencias (CIBION), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Claudio N Cavasotto
- Computational Drug Design and Biomedical Informatics Laboratory, Instituto de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional (IIMT), CONICET-Universidad Austral, Pilar, Argentina.,Facultad de Ciencias Biomédicas and Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Austral, Pilar, Argentina.,Austral Institute for Applied Artificial Intelligence, Universidad Austral, Pilar, Argentina
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Elbæk Madsen K, Mariager CØ, Duvald CS, Hansen ESS, Bertelsen LB, Pedersen M, Pedersen LH, Uldbjerg N, Laustsen C. Ex Vivo Human Placenta Perfusion, Metabolic and Functional Imaging for Obstetric Research-A Feasibility Study. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 5:333-338. [PMID: 31893231 PMCID: PMC6935991 DOI: 10.18383/j.tom.2019.00016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Placenta metabolism is closely linked to pregnancy outcome, and few modalities are currently available for studying the human placenta. Here, we aimed to investigate a novel ex vivo human placenta perfusion system for metabolic imaging using hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate. The metabolic effects of 3 different human placentas were investigated using functional and metabolic magnetic resonance imaging. The placenta glucose metabolism and hemodynamics were characterized with hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate magnetic resonance imaging and by dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) imaging. Hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate showed a decrease in the 13C-lactate/13C-pyruvate ratio from the highest to the lowest metabolic active placenta. The metabolic profile was complemented by a more homogenous distributed hemodynamic response, with a longer mean transit time and higher blood volume. This study shows different placenta metabolic and hemodynamic features associated with the placenta functional status using hyperpolarized magnetic resonance ex vivo. This study supports further studies using ex vivo metabolic imaging of the placenta alterations associated with pregnancy complications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrine Elbæk Madsen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, MR-Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Comparative Medicine Laboratory, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; and
| | | | - Christina S Duvald
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Comparative Medicine Laboratory, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; and
| | | | - Lotte Bonde Bertelsen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, MR-Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Michael Pedersen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Comparative Medicine Laboratory, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; and
| | - Lars Henning Pedersen
- Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Aarhus University Hospital and Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Niels Uldbjerg
- Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Aarhus University Hospital and Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Christoffer Laustsen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, MR-Research Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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4
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Jensen OE, Chernyavsky IL. Blood flow and transport in the human placenta. ANNUAL REVIEW OF FLUID MECHANICS 2019; 51:25-47. [PMID: 38410641 PMCID: PMC7615669 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-fluid-010518-040219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
The placenta is a multi-functional organ that exchanges blood gases and nutrients between a mother and her developing fetus. In humans, fetal blood flows through intricate networks of vessels confined within villous trees, the branches of which are bathed in pools of maternal blood. Fluid mechanics and transport processes play a central role in understanding how these elaborate structures contribute to the function of the placenta, and how their disorganization may lead to disease. Recent advances in imaging and computation have spurred significant advances in simulations of fetal and maternal flows within the placenta, across a range of lengthscales. Models describe jets of maternal blood emerging from spiral arteries into a disordered and deformable porous medium, and solute uptake by fetal blood flowing through elaborate three-dimensional capillary networks. We survey recent developments and emerging challenges in modeling flow and transport in this complex organ.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Igor L. Chernyavsky
- School of Mathematics, University of Manchester, UK
- Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre, Division of Developmental
Biology & Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine
& Health, University of Manchester, UK
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Brownbill P, Sebire N, McGillick EV, Ellery S, Murthi P. Ex Vivo Dual Perfusion of the Human Placenta: Disease Simulation, Therapeutic Pharmacokinetics and Analysis of Off-Target Effects. Methods Mol Biol 2018; 1710:173-189. [PMID: 29197003 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7498-6_14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
In recent years ex vivo dual perfusion of the human placental lobule is seeing an international renaissance in its application to understanding fetal health and development. Here, we discuss the methods and uses of this technique in the evaluation of (1) vascular function, (2) transplacental clearance, (3) hemodynamic and oxygenation changes associated with pregnancy complications on placental structure and function, and (4) placental toxicology and post-perfusion evaluation of tissue architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Brownbill
- Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre, Division of Developmental Biology & Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK.
- St. Mary's Hospital, Central Manchester University Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK.
| | - Neil Sebire
- Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Erin V McGillick
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Stacey Ellery
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Padma Murthi
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
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