Sex at the interface: the origin and impact of sex differences in the developing human placenta

Abstract

The fetal placenta is a source of hormones and immune factors that play a vital role in maintaining pregnancy and facilitating fetal growth. Cells in this extraembryonic compartment match the chromosomal sex of the embryo itself. Sex differences have been observed in common gestational pathologies, highlighting the importance of maternal immune tolerance to the fetal compartment. Over the past decade, several studies examining placentas from term pregnancies have revealed widespread sex differences in hormone signaling, immune signaling, and metabolic functions. Given the rapid and dynamic development of the human placenta, sex differences that exist at term (37-42 weeks gestation) are unlikely to align precisely with those present at earlier stages when the fetal-maternal interface is being formed and the foundations of a healthy or diseased pregnancy are established. While fetal sex as a variable is often left unreported in studies performing transcriptomic profiling of the first-trimester human placenta, four recent studies have specifically examined fetal sex in early human placental development. In this review, we discuss the findings from these publications and consider the evidence for the genetic, hormonal, and immune mechanisms that are theorized to account for sex differences in early human placenta. We also highlight the cellular and molecular processes that are most likely to be impacted by fetal sex and the evolutionary pressures that may have given rise to these differences. With growing recognition of the fetal origins of health and disease, it is important to shed light on sex differences in early prenatal development, as these observations may unlock insight into the foundations of sex-biased pathologies that emerge later in life.

Keywords: Differences; Fetal; Gene expression; Placenta; Pregnancy complications; Sex; Transcriptome.

Fig. 1

Ideogram visualization of significant (p ≤ 0.05) sex-biased gene expression on sex chromosomes comparing two datasets (G: Gonzalez et al., B: Braun et al.). Includes protein-coding RNA only. M: male (green triangles), F: female (orange circles)

Fig. 2

Functional associations of DE transcripts in male CV (green) and female CV (orange)

Fig. 3

Representation of conventional (a) and “backdoor” (b) pathways of androgen production. Key enzymes labeled next to corresponding step in pathway. Dotted arrows indicate transport of steroid hormones and intermediates between compartments/organs. DHEA, dehydroepiandrosterone; DHT, 5α-dihydrotestosterone

Fig. 4

Summary: theorized factors contributing to sex differences in placental gene expression and functions. Green = unique to XY males, orange = unique to XX females