LAMB3 – DAG1 axis in endoglandular trophoblast invasion

Women in Austria currently wish to have at least 2 children on average, but unfortunately many suffer from fertility problems in the first few weeks of pregnancy and even lose their child very early on. Science cannot yet help here, as the basic processes involved in human implantation and placenta development in humans are still largely unknown. During human pregnancy, the fetus is nourished with maternal blood via the placenta. However, this so-called uteroplacental blood flow only starts from the 4th month of pregnancy. Before that, the fetus is nourished by secretions from the glands in the mother`s uterine lining. Only in recent years has it been discovered that during placental development, fetal cells from the placenta invade these uterine glands, thereby connect the glands with the placenta and thus enable the glandular secretions to reach the fetus. It is likely that the role of the uterine glands and their invasion by fetal cells in maintaining a healthy pregnancy has been underestimated. Also, the factors that may dictate this invasion pattern and thus influence reproductive success are still unknown. We want to better understand how these invading fetal cells interact with the maternal uterine glands, potentially contributing to complications in fertility and early pregnancy. However, research into human reproduction poses a particular challenge. Aside from ethical concerns, processes such as implantation and subsequent placentation differ significantly between animals and humans. The applicant has invented novel in vitro model systems for early placenta development. they are used to identify biomarkers, investigate their potential contribution to early placental development, evaluate treatment options and predict response with classical laboratory methods such as histology, molecular biology together with modern bioinformatics. Thereby a potential contribution of these biomarkers to early pregnancy will be investigated. This project offers the opportunity to gain insights into fertility issues and pregnancy-related diseases and thus makes an important contribution to the prevention of diseases that affect women.