3D Bioprinted Placentas Help Researchers Study Pregnancy Complications

Complications during pregnancy account for more than 260,000 maternal deaths and millions of infant deaths worldwide each year. One serious condition connected to placental dysfunction is preeclampsia, which affects 5–8% of pregnancies. Understanding how these complications arise has been difficult, as researchers cannot safely obtain placental tissue in early pregnancy, and by birth the placenta has changed too much to represent earlier stages.

A team from the University of Technology Sydney, led by Lana McClements with first author Claire Richards, reports a method to address this challenge using 3D bioprinting. Their study, published in Nature Communications, describes how bioprinting can create miniature placentas that closely resemble human tissue in early pregnancy.

The researchers combined trophoblast cells with a synthetic, cell-friendly gel that could be precisely controlled. Using bioprinting technology, they placed the cells into culture dishes as small and accurate droplets, much like the precise layering of an ink-jet printer. The printed cells grew into placental tissue structures that more closely mirrored human development than those made with animal-derived gels. Importantly, the environment used in the process influenced how the placental cells matured, leading to different developmental outcomes.

To test the potential of this model, the team exposed the bioprinted placental tissue to an inflammatory molecule found at high levels in women with preeclampsia. They then applied possible treatments and examined how the tissue responded. This demonstrated that the system could be used both to study underlying mechanisms of pregnancy disorders and to evaluate candidate therapies. 

Dr. McClements emphasized that serious pregnancy complications remain poorly understood because “current animal and cell models cannot accurately replicate the human placenta.” The bioprinted placental tissue aims to close this gap by offering a more accurate way to study early pregnancy events and their links to maternal and infant health outcomes. 

As Dr. Richards explained, the approach provides a safer and more practical way to study placental development: “We showed these organoids were very similar to human placental tissue, providing an accurate model of the early placenta. This means we can start piecing together the puzzle of pregnancy complications and test new drugs safely.”

Through ongoing refinement, the researchers suggest the method could one day help predict, prevent, and treat pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, reducing risks for mothers and infants alike.