New evidence that fetal membranes can repair themselves after injury


Date:
August 18, 2021
Source:
Queen Mary University of London
Summary:
Scientists have shown that fetal membranes are able to heal
after injury.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Scientists from Queen Mary University of London and UCL have shown that
fetal membranes are able to heal after injury in a new study published
today in Scientific Reports.


==========================================================================
The integrity of the fetal membranes that surround the baby in the womb
during pregnancy is vital for normal development. But fetal membranes can become damaged as a result of infection, bleeding, or after fetal surgery
and even diagnostic tests during pregnancy, such as amniocentesis, which require doctors to make a hole with a needle in the fetal membrane sac.

Currently there are no clinical approaches available to repair or improve healing in the fetal membranes, and until now it was unclear if small
holes in the membranes were able to heal themselves.

The international research team, which also includes scientists and
clinicians from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium, created small defects using a needle in
donated human fetal membrane tissue, to mimic damage caused during fetal surgery. A few days after injury, the researchers discovered a population
of cells called myofibroblasts (MFs), which play an important role in
wound healing, and found that these cells crawled towards the edges
of the wound and into the defect site. This cell population produced
collagen and started to pull the edges of the wound, contracting the
tissues together and repairing the wound.

The findings follow on from the team's previous work that highlighted
the importance of a protein called Connexin 43 (Cx43) in the process of
wound healing and repair. Whilst in this study, the researchers show
that Cx43 was expressed by two cell populations, amniotic mesenchymal
cells (AMCs) and MFs, the localisation and levels of Cx43 measured were different. They also found that overexpression of this protein affected
the ability of cells to migrate into the defect site and close the wound.

Dr Tina Chowdhury, Senior Lecturer in Regenerative Medicine at Queen
Mary, said: "We have always thought that small diameter wounds created
in human fetal membranes rarely heal by themselves but here we show
that the tissues have the potential to do this. We found that Cx43 has different effects on cell populations found in the membranes and promotes transformation of AMCs into MFs, triggering them to move, repair and
heal defects in the fetal membranes." The premature rupture of fetal membranes, known as preterm prelabour rupture of the membranes (PPROM),
is a major cause of preterm birth accounting for around 40 per cent of
early infant death. Therefore, the successful repair of fetal membranes
could help reduce the risk of birth complications.

Anna David, UCLH Consultant and Professor in Obstetrics and Maternal
Fetal Medicine and Director at the UCL Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Institute for Women's Health and a co-author of the study, said:
"Finding that the fetal membranes have this potential to heal is a
huge step towards developing treatments for women with PPROM. It holds
out hope that we may be able to delay or even prevent preterm birth,
which will significantly improve baby outcomes." This research was
funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity (17QMU01),
Rosetrees Trust (M808), KU Leuven University Fund, Little Heartbeats
and the Prenatal Therapy Fund, University College London Hospital Charity.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Queen_Mary_University_of_London. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Eleni Costa, Babatunde O. Okesola, Christopher Thrasivoulou,
David L.

Becker, Jan A. Deprest, Anna L. David, Tina T. Chowdhury. Cx43
mediates changes in myofibroblast contraction and collagen release
in human amniotic membrane defects after trauma. Scientific Reports,
2021; 11 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-94767-4 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210818083913.htm

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