Placental epigenetic programming: elucidating a role in cellular identity and transcriptional plasticity

Pregnancy complications affect as many as one in four pregnancies, yet there remains a critical gap in our knowledge of the underlying causes. The placenta not only supports the growth of the baby in pregnancy, but helps the mother’s body adapt. A poorly functioning placenta is linked to pregnancy complications, but we have a poor understanding of early molecular events that direct healthy placental development. My research will characterise two early epigenetic events in placental cells and uncover how these are required for its development, using the mouse as a model. I will apply cutting-edge sequencing technologies to map epigenetic features in placental cells in the post-implantation embryo. Then I will evaluate how pregnancy progresses and the placenta functions when the setting of these epigenetic marks is disrupted. This study will provide ground-breaking insights into the fundamental mechanisms regulating placental development and demonstrate how these underpin its function in pregnancy.