PLACENTAL VILLI-DECIDUA INTERACTIONS IN NORMAL AND HYPERTENSIVE PREGNANCIES - A MORPHOLOGICAL QUANTITATIVE STUDY

The decidual response to the implantation of the embryo is characterized by physical modifications to the uterine wall, with proliferation of the stromal cells which later change into decidual cells. We performed associated morphological and morphometrical studies to assess how the placental villi and decidua intersect, both in normal terminal pregnancy and in hypertensive patients in whom microenvironmental modifications induced by hypertension may cause significant alterations in mother-fetus relationships. In placentas of hypertensive women our morphometric analyses showed a higher number of chorionic villi-decidua interactions (p < 0.05) with a more clumped distribution (p < 0.05) and a smaller surface area of single interaction (p < 0.001), in association with a higher number (p < 0.005), and greater areas (p < 0.01) of decidual cells. These data demonstrate how the placenta can enhance mother-fetus contacts impaired as the result of a hypertensive condition.