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Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) pp 63–73Cite as

Placental Development and Nutritional Environment

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Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1012))

Abstract

The placenta is considered to have developed recently in mammalian evolution. While the fundamental function of the placenta, i.e., providing nutrients and oxygen to the fetus and receiving waste products, is the same in all mammals, the morphology of the placenta varies substantially in a species-dependent manner. Therefore, considerable interest exists in understanding placental development and function in mammals from a molecular biological viewpoint. Numerous recent studies have shown that various environmental factors before and during pregnancy, including nutrition, affect placental formation and function and that alterations in placental formation and function can influence the developing fetus and the offspring after birth. To date, the relationship between nutrition and the placenta has been investigated in several species, various model organisms, and humans. In this chapter, we discuss the current knowledge of the placenta and the epigenome and then highlight the effects of nutrition during pregnancy on the placenta and the fetus and on the offspring after birth.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Maternal-Fetal Biology, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan

    Kosuke Taniguchi, Tomoko Kawai & Kenichiro Hata

Authors
  1. Kosuke Taniguchi
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  2. Tomoko Kawai
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  3. Kenichiro Hata
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Correspondence to Kosuke Taniguchi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Child Studies, Seitoku University, Matsudo, Chiba, Japan

    Takeo Kubota

  2. Research Organization for Nano & Life Innovation, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan

    Hideoki Fukuoka

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Taniguchi, K., Kawai, T., Hata, K. (2018). Placental Development and Nutritional Environment. In: Kubota, T., Fukuoka, H. (eds) Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) . Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1012. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5526-3_7

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