Placental differences between severe fetal growth restriction and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy requiring early preterm delivery: morphometric analysis of the villous tree supported by artificial intelligence

• Published in: American journal of obstetrics and gynecology 2024-11, Vol.231 (5), p.552.e1-552.e13
• Main Authors: Jacobs, Anna, Al-Juboori, Saif I., Dobrinskikh, Evgenia, Bolt, Matthew A., Sammel, Mary D., Lijewski, Virginia, Post, Miriam D., Small, James M., Su, Emily J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: artificial intelligence; CD34; cytokeratin-7; Doppler velocimetry; maternal vascular malperfusion; morphometry; placental vasculature; placental villi; preeclampsia; umbilical artery
• ISSN: 0002-9378; 1097-6868; 1097-6868
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2024.02.291

The great obstetrical syndromes of fetal growth restriction and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy can occur individually or be interrelated. Placental pathologic findings often overlap between these conditions, regardless of whether 1 or both diagnoses are present. Quantification of placental villous structures in each of these settings may identify distinct differences in developmental pathways. This study aimed to determine how the quantity and surface area of placental villi and vessels differ between severe, early-onset fetal growth restriction with absent or reversed umbilical artery Doppler indices and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy or the 2 conditions combined among subjects with disease severity that warrant early preterm delivery. We hypothesized that the trajectories of placental morphogenesis diverge after a common initiating insult of deep defective placentation. Specifically, we postulated that only villi are affected in pregnancy-related hypertension, whereas both villous and vascular structures are proportionally diminished in severe fetal growth restriction with no additional effect when hypertension is concomitantly present. In this retrospective cohort study, paraffin-embedded placental tissue was obtained from 4 groups, namely (1) patients with severe fetal growth restriction with absent or reversed umbilical artery end-diastolic velocities and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, (2) patients with severe fetal growth restriction with absent or reversed umbilical artery Doppler indices and no hypertension, (3) gestational age-matched, appropriately grown pregnancies with hypertensive disease, and (4) gestational age-matched, appropriately grown pregnancies without hypertension. Dual immunohistochemistry for cytokeratin-7 (trophoblast) and CD34 (endothelial cells) was performed, followed by artificial intelligence-driven morphometric analyses. The number of villi, total villous area, number of fetoplacental vessels, and total vascular area across villi within a uniform region of interest were quantified. Quantitative analyses of placental structures were modeled using linear regression. Placentas from pregnancies complicated by hypertensive disorders of pregnancy exhibited significantly fewer stem villi (−282 stem villi; 95% confidence interval, −467 to −98; P