Cell atlas reveals the landscape of early pregnancy

Abstract

RNA sequencing of thousands of single cells located at the interface between mother and fetus in early pregnancy reveals remarkable complexity in the cell types and regulatory networks that support reproduction.

Keywords: Developmental biology; Transcriptomics.

Figure 1 |. An atlas of cells at the maternal–fetal interface.

During the first trimester of human pregnancy, an interface forms between the maternal decidua (the lining of the pregnant uterus) and the fetal placenta. Nutrients are delivered to the placenta down maternal spiral arteries. Vento-Tormo et al.. sequenced the RNA of thousands of single cells at this interface, and used the data to define different cell types and to predict interactions between cells on the basis of the receptors and ligand molecules that they express (not shown). The authors’ data provide information about fetal cell types derived from the early embryo: villous cytotrophoblast (VCT) cells, which line placental structures called villi; syncytiotrophoblast (SCT) cells that cover the villus surface; and extravillous trophoblast (EVT) cells, which line the maternal blood vessels and intermingle with maternal cells in the decidua. The authors also identified several types of maternal immune cell, including T cells and three subsets of decidual natural killer (dNK) cell, and three types of stromal cell, which provide structural support for the decidua.