IMMUNOLOGY2026™ Conference Recordings For Attendees-Placental Immune Cell Dynamics in Healthy and Complicated Pregnancies: Insights from 1.2 Million Maternal and Fetal Cells

Placental Immune Cell Dynamics in Healthy and Complicated Pregnancies: Insights from 1.2 Million Maternal and Fetal Cells

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The speaker presented a large placental single-cell and spatial transcriptomics study of immune-mediated pregnancy complications, including preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, spontaneous preterm birth, and type 1 diabetes. Using samples from 69 pregnant individuals and more than 1.2 million cells, the team built the largest placental cell atlas to date, identifying 114 cell populations and distinguishing maternal from fetal cells through genetic demultiplexing. They found that many complications show reduced fetal Hofbauer cells and increased maternal macrophages, with especially strong shifts in preeclampsia. Spontaneous preterm birth had a distinct profile, with strong angiogenesis, tissue repair, and stress signals in Hofbauer cells and other immune populations. Spatial transcriptomics confirmed increased Hofbauer cells and angiogenesis in villi in spontaneous preterm birth. Term and preterm preeclampsia showed different molecular signatures, suggesting they may require different diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

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Date April 18, 2026 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM

Room 153C

Session Systems-level Human Immune Profiling Data Resources and Analysis, Sponsored by the Human Immunol. Project Consortium (HIPC), La Jolla Inst. for Immunology

Speaker Andrea Edlow

Track Computational and Systems Immunology (COMP)

Year 2026

Keywords

placental single-cell transcriptomics

immune-mediated pregnancy complications

preeclampsia

Hofbauer cells

spatial transcriptomics

spontaneous preterm birth

April 18, 2026 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM

153C

Systems-level Human Immune Profiling Data Resources and Analysis, Sponsored by the Human Immunol. Project Consortium (HIPC), La Jolla Inst. for Immunology

Andrea Edlow

Computational and Systems Immunology (COMP)

2026