Establishment and comparison of human term placenta-derived trophoblast cells

Abstract Research on the biology of fetal-maternal barriers has been limited by access to physiologically relevant cells, including trophoblast cells. In this study, we describe the development of a human-term placenta-derived cytotrophoblast immortalized cell line (hPTCCTB) derived from the basal plate. hPTCCTB cells are comparable to their primary cells of origin in terms of morphology, marker expression, and functional responses. We demonstrate that these can transform into syncytiotrophoblast and extravillous trophoblasts. We also compared the hPTCCTB cells to immortalized chorionic trophoblasts (hFM-CTC), trophoblasts of the chorionic plate, and BeWo cells, choriocarcinoma cell lines of conventional use. hPTCCTB and hFM-CTCs displayed more similarity to each other than to BeWos, but these differ in syncytialization ability. Overall, this study (1) demonstrates that the immortalized hPTCCTB generated are cells of higher physiological relevance, and (2) provides a look into the distinction between the spatially placental and fetal barrier trophoblasts cells, hPTCCTB and hFM-CTC, respectively.