Feasibility of placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells as a tool for studying pregnancy-related disorders

The cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for pregnancy-related disorders remain unclear. We investigated the feasibility of using placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a tool to study such pregnancy-related disorders. We isolated and expanded adequate numbers of cells with characteristic features of MSCs from the chorionic plate (CP-MSCs), chorionic villi (CV-MSCs), and decidua basalis (DB-MSCs) of human term placental tissues. All placenta-derived MSCs expressed pregnancy-associated C14MC microRNA (miRNA) (miR-323-3p). Interestingly, the placenta-specific C19MC miRNAs (miR-518b and miR517a) were clearly expressed in CP-MSCs and CV-MSCs of foetal origin, but were barely expressed in DB-MSCs of maternal origin. Furthermore, expression levels of placenta-specific C19MC miRNAs in CV-MSCs remained stable during the ex vivo expansion process and across different pregnancy phases (first trimester versus third trimester). High-efficiency siRNA transfection was confirmed in twice-passaged CV-MSCs with little toxicity, and microarray analysis was used to screen for miR-518b target genes. Placenta-derived MSCs, especially CV-MSCs, are a potential tool for investigating the role of placental miRNAs in pregnancy-related disorders.