A flexible generative algorithm for growing in silico placentas.

Publisher: Public Library of Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101238922 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1553-7358 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 1553734X NLM ISO Abbreviation: PLoS Comput Biol Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science, [2005]-

Placenta*/blood supply ; Algorithms* ; Computer Simulation* ; Computational Biology*/methods; Pregnancy ; Female ; Humans ; Models, Biological

The placenta is crucial for a successful pregnancy, facilitating oxygen exchange and nutrient transport between mother and fetus. Complications like fetal growth restriction and pre-eclampsia are linked to placental vascular structure abnormalities, highlighting the need for early detection of placental health issues. Computational modelling offers insights into how vascular architecture correlates with flow and oxygenation in both healthy and dysfunctional placentas. These models use synthetic networks to represent the multiscale feto-placental vasculature, but current methods lack direct control over key morphological parameters like branching angles, essential for predicting placental dysfunction. We introduce a novel generative algorithm for creating in silico placentas, allowing user-controlled customisation of feto-placental vasculatures, both as individual components (placental shape, chorionic vessels, placentone) and as a complete structure. The algorithm is physiologically underpinned, following branching laws (i.e. Murray's Law), and is defined by four key morphometric statistics: vessel diameter, vessel length, branching angle and asymmetry. Our algorithm produces structures consistent with in vivo measurements and ex vivo observations. Our sensitivity analysis highlights how vessel length variations and branching angles play a pivotal role in defining the architecture of the placental vascular network. Moreover, our approach is stochastic in nature, yielding vascular structures with different topological metrics when imposing the same input settings. Unlike previous volume-filling algorithms, our approach allows direct control over key morphological parameters, generating vascular structures that closely resemble real vascular densities and allowing for the investigation of the impact of morphological parameters on placental function in upcoming studies.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2024 C. de Oliveira et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2010 Apr;298(4):H1249-59. (PMID: 20081111)
Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2020 Mar;55(3):293-302. (PMID: 31452271)
J Ultrasound Med. 2008 Nov;27(11):1583-90. (PMID: 18946097)
Placenta. 2010 Nov;31(11):958-62. (PMID: 20933281)
Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2016 Sep;48(3):333-9. (PMID: 26909664)
Interface Focus. 2015 Apr 6;5(2):20140078. (PMID: 25844150)
Pediatr Res. 2019 Jun;85(7):974-981. (PMID: 30700836)
Front Clin Diabetes Healthc. 2022 Mar 08;2:807192. (PMID: 36994339)
Sci Rep. 2021 Mar 17;11(1):6180. (PMID: 33731776)
J R Soc Interface. 2021 Jun;18(179):20210140. (PMID: 34062108)
Magn Reson Med. 2019 Jul;82(1):95-106. (PMID: 30883915)
Placenta. 2020 Apr;93:43-48. (PMID: 32250738)
Placenta. 2014 May;35(5):303-4. (PMID: 24661567)
Microvasc Res. 2010 Jul;80(1):89-98. (PMID: 20303995)
Sci Rep. 2014 Aug 26;4:6192. (PMID: 25155961)
Placenta. 2020 Nov;101:4-12. (PMID: 32905974)
PLoS One. 2016 Oct 27;11(10):e0165369. (PMID: 27788214)
Sci Rep. 2019 Jan 9;9(1):1. (PMID: 30626917)
Sci Rep. 2017 Jan 19;7:40771. (PMID: 28102332)
Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2000 Sep;92(1):35-43. (PMID: 10986432)
J Intern Med. 2007 May;261(5):412-7. (PMID: 17444880)
R Soc Open Sci. 2018 Apr 11;5(4):180219. (PMID: 29765697)
Placenta. 2009 Jun;30(6):473-82. (PMID: 19375795)
PLoS Comput Biol. 2020 Jun 22;16(6):e1007943. (PMID: 32569287)
PLoS Comput Biol. 2019 Jun 21;15(6):e1006751. (PMID: 31226169)
IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2020 Jun;67(6):1650-1663. (PMID: 31545704)
Int J Dev Biol. 2010;54(2-3):469-73. (PMID: 19876819)
PLoS Comput Biol. 2010 Aug 05;6(8):. (PMID: 20700495)
Placenta. 2010 Jan;31(1):44-52. (PMID: 19945160)
BJOG. 2021 Jan;128(2):337-345. (PMID: 32603546)
J Theor Biol. 2021 May 21;517:110630. (PMID: 33607145)
J Anat. 2007 Dec;211(6):698-706. (PMID: 17973911)
Annu Rev Fluid Mech. 2019 Jan;51:25-47. (PMID: 38410641)
Placenta. 2004 May;25(5):408-12. (PMID: 15081635)
Clin Genet. 2006 Feb;69(2):97-104. (PMID: 16433688)
PLoS One. 2022 Jul 19;17(7):e0270360. (PMID: 35853003)
Sci Rep. 2018 Nov 8;8(1):16526. (PMID: 30409992)
J Theor Biol. 2016 Nov 7;408:1-12. (PMID: 27378004)
Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2022 May;146:106195. (PMID: 35339913)
Magn Reson Med. 2018 Aug;80(2):756-766. (PMID: 29230859)
J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2021 Apr;34(7):1133-1137. (PMID: 31164018)
Med Image Comput Comput Assist Interv. 2019 Oct;11767:39-47. (PMID: 32432232)
Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2011 Mar;155(1):36-40. (PMID: 21183268)
Nat Biomed Eng. 2018 Oct;2(10):773-787. (PMID: 31015649)
Placenta. 2012 Mar;33(3):164-70. (PMID: 22217910)
Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2015 Dec;46(6):700-5. (PMID: 25640054)
Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2011;4(3-4):103-8. (PMID: 22229062)
Comput Struct Biotechnol J. 2018 Aug 24;16:298-306. (PMID: 30181841)
Pak J Med Sci. 2020 Jul-Aug;36(5):1058-1062. (PMID: 32704289)
J Biophotonics. 2020 Apr;13(4):e201900167. (PMID: 31661594)
Hypertension. 2020 Jun;75(6):1523-1531. (PMID: 32336233)
J Reprod Immunol. 2015 Apr;108:65-71. (PMID: 25817465)
Sci Adv. 2019 Apr 17;5(4):eaav6326. (PMID: 31001587)
J Clin Diagn Res. 2012 Dec;6(10):1732-5. (PMID: 23373039)
Magn Reson Med. 2020 Feb;83(2):549-560. (PMID: 31433077)
Cancer Res. 2019 May 1;79(9):2435-2444. (PMID: 30894376)
J Obstet Gynaecol. 2012 Apr;32(3):230-6. (PMID: 22369394)
Placenta. 2008 Sep;29(9):790-7. (PMID: 18674815)
Placenta. 2010 Jun;31(6):491-8. (PMID: 20347139)
Placenta. 2014 Oct;35(10):808-15. (PMID: 25145956)
Placenta. 2019 Dec;88:36-43. (PMID: 31670095)
Sci Rep. 2017 Jun 23;7(1):4144. (PMID: 28646147)
Ann Biomed Eng. 2021 Sep;49(9):2183-2195. (PMID: 33646497)
J Biomech Eng. 2017 May 1;139(5):. (PMID: 28267189)
Int J Numer Method Biomed Eng. 2013 Apr;29(4):515-29. (PMID: 23225739)
Sci Rep. 2016 Apr 05;6:24004. (PMID: 27045698)
Neuroimage. 2019 Mar;188:391-402. (PMID: 30553045)
J Appl Physiol (1985). 1994 Feb;76(2):882-92. (PMID: 8175603)
Magn Reson Med. 2019 Feb;81(2):1191-1204. (PMID: 30242899)
Magn Reson Med. 2019 Apr;81(4):2399-2411. (PMID: 30426558)
Comput Biol Med. 2024 Mar;171:108140. (PMID: 38422956)
Placenta. 2020 Jul;96:34-43. (PMID: 32560856)
Placenta. 2010 Nov;31(11):963-8. (PMID: 20832856)

United Kingdom WT_ Wellcome Trust

Date Created: 20241007 Date Completed: 20241017 Latest Revision: 20241019

20241019

PMC11486434

10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012470

39374295