Abnormal development of the placenta in the early stage of a pregnancy is associated with pregnancy pathologies such as preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction, which may have detrimental effects on the mother and child even in later life. As a result, research focuses on inflammatory processes during early placental development and on mechanisms involved in placenta-associated pregnancy pathologies.
Regeneration, the formation and remodeling of tissue, constantly takes place over the course of a lifetime. For test purposes, it is necessary to reproduce tissue that is as physiologically realistic as possible in the lab. Research involves growing different tissue (placental, intestinal, bronchial, vascular) including from stem cells and promoting differentiation using physical and biochemical parameters. This allows three-dimensional tissue cultures that better represent the in vivo situation than the usual two-dimensional cultures.
