Placenta in Health and Disease - Charles University Research Team

24/02/2026

We are pleased to share that our team has published a comprehensive review entitled “The placental tryptophan pathway across gestation: implications for pregnancy outcomes” in Human Reproduction Update, currently ranked #1 in Obstetrics and Gynecology (Impact Factor 16.1).

This publication represents the outcome of research efforts that began in 2017, when our team started systematically investigating placental tryptophan metabolism. Since then, this work has grown into a coherent research line focused on understanding how the placenta regulates serotonin, melatonin, and kynurenine pathways, and how these metabolic processes shape pregnancy outcomes and fetal neurodevelopment.

Over the years, more than 15 experimental studies have been published in this field, combining human placental models, animal studies, molecular approaches, and clinical cohort data. This research has also formed the basis of three completed PhD projects, with a fourth currently ongoing, reflecting the continuity and academic depth of this work.

The newly published review integrates international evidence with findings generated within our team, providing a comprehensive framework for understanding how placental tryptophan metabolism changes across gestation and how its dysregulation may contribute to pregnancy complications such as preterm birth, preeclampsia, and fetal growth restriction. Particular attention is given to early pregnancy as a critical window during which metabolic balance is established and fetal exposure to neuroactive metabolites is determined.

We are proud to see this body of work synthesized in one of the leading journals in reproductive science.

AbstractBACKGROUND. Tryptophan metabolism within the placenta generates bioactive metabolites, including serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT), melatonin,

12/02/2026

PhD students Fiona Kumnova and Mia Souki recently completed a 4EU+ funded scientific exchange at the University of Geneva in the Laboratory of Gynaecological Tumor and Development Biology, led by Prof. Marie Cohen.

During their stay, the students gained hands-on experience with advanced experimental approaches in developmental and placental biology. They learned the isolation of primary trophoblasts from first-trimester placental tissue and the generation of placental organoids from early pregnancy samples. In addition, they performed isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors and explored co-culture systems, including extravillous trophoblasts with PBMCs and with the THP-1 cell line. The exchange also provided valuable insight into how experimental design is structured and applied in ongoing research projects within Prof. Cohen’s laboratory.

Alongside day-to-day work in the lab, the visit included a joint workshop, where both teams presented their research and shared data, discussed ideas, and exchanged feedback in a highly constructive setting. Expert input from Prof. Cohen and her group contributed to refining ongoing research work while also giving the students an opportunity to engage closely with innovative projects being developed in Geneva.

Beyond the scientific programme, the exchange concluded with a memorable cultural highlight, a hands-on Swiss chocolate-making experience.

Overall, this exchange highlights the importance of the 4EU+ Alliance in enabling opportunities that help young researchers build skills, networks, and long-term international collaborations. It also strengthened the growing collaboration between the two teams. This collaboration has been recently reinforced through the accepted Horizon Europe project DataRoc, where both teams are consortium partners working on AI-generated digital twins for science.

Univerzita Karlova

07/11/2025

Proud of my students...and the whole team 👍

Mohammad Rida Ghaddar, a fourth-year PhD student in the Placenta in Health and Disease research team at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology has been awarded the prestigious EMBO Scientific Exchange Grant.

24/09/2025

The Placenta in Health and Disease team has just returned from IFPA 2024 in Erfurt — and what a ride it was! Scientific program? Brilliant. Social program? Also brilliant (we were equally active in both, trust us 😉).

Highlights from our crew of ten:
- Our first-year PhD student Mia Salma Al Souki received the Young Investigator Travel Award – way to start a PhD career! 👏
- Fiona Kumnova made it to the poster finalist stage – not easy among two hundred posters! 🎉
- Rona Karahoda gave a fantastic lecture, wrapping up seven years of our team’s research on monoamines in the fetoplacental unit 🙌

A huge thank you to the organizers from Jena University, led by Prof. Udo Markert – you’ve set the bar sky-high. 🙏

And now… back to work 👨‍🔬🔬 - as we set our sights on Kamakura, Japan, September 2026 🇯🇵🍣.
We can’t wait — science, sushi, and more placenta talk await!

20/06/2025

Members of our team have participated in the 18th European Placenta Perfusion Workshop - amazing event, as usual - this time in sunny Manchester 👍🏻🇬🇧
Fiona Kumnova and Mohammad Rida Ghaddar delivered lectures on their topics of placental inflammasome and endocannabinoid systems, respectively (and they were both amazing 👏)
To be continued - next year in St Gallen🇨🇭

21/05/2025

We’re proud to share our latest work on steroid dynamics in the maternal-placental-fetal unit, now published in Molecular and Cellular Proteomics!

This study provides a comprehensive characterization of steroid metabolism in the maternal-placental-fetal unit by profiling 51 steroids in maternal, neonatal, and placental samples, complemented by multiple placental models. The findings reveal that the placenta favors keto derivatives of androgens and actively produces classic and novel progesterones. The study also broadens the role of placental 11βHSD2 beyond cortisol metabolism, offering new insights into placental steroidogenesis and its relevance for fetal development.

This work is a result of the wonderful collaboration with the University of Bern, Switzerland. Special thanks to Prof. Christiane Albrecht for the inspiring scientific exchange - and for hosting our team member Rona Karahoda during her internship, which was the starting point of this exciting project.

We’re grateful for this cross-border collaboration and the opportunity to contribute new insights into placental steroid metabolism and pregnancy physiology.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcpro.2025.100976

24/04/2025

Our latest paper is out in Reproduction: we investigated how intraamniotic inflammation affects tryptophan metabolism in the placenta–fetal brain axis using an ultrasound-guided rat model. The study reveals a shift toward neurotoxic metabolite production and disruption of serotonin pathways, highlighting a possible mechanistic link between prenatal inflammation and neurodevelopmental disorders. This builds on our earlier findings in human placenta and underscores the critical role of placental function in fetal brain development. Full text here: https://rep.bioscientifica.com/view/journals/rep/169/5/REP-24-0378.xml

Well done to the team, especially Cilia Abad 👏

In brief Intrauterine inflammation disrupts tryptophan metabolism in both the placenta and the fetal brain, leading to a shift toward neurotoxic metabolites. These findings highlight the critical role of placental function in neurodevelopment and suggest that inflammation-induced metabolic changes m...

12/11/2024

The European Placenta Group (EPG) Conference 2024 was successfully held on November 7-8 in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, hosted by the Farmaceutická fakulta v Hradci Králové Univerzity Karlovy, and organized by our research team. The conference welcomed over 100 participants from 14 countries, providing a collaborative platform for researchers to share and discuss the latest advancements in placental physiology and pathology.

The two-day program featured a dynamic mix of presentations, highlighting research on environmental and pharmacological impacts on placental functions, extracellular vesicles, placental pathologies, immune cells in pregnancy, trophoblast differentiation, and metabolic implications for fetal growth. Each session was chaired by leading experts and included contributions from both established and early career researchers, fostering a supportive environment for scientific dialogue.

The conference was generously supported by the project New Technologies for Translational Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences/NETPHARM (project ID CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004607, co-funded by the European Union) and the Univerzita Karlova 4EU+ mini-grant (project code MA/4EU+/2024/F1/06), enhancing international collaborations and facilitating valuable exchanges in the field. Looking forward, the EPG hopes to continue building on this network through regional workshops, training sessions, and collaborative projects.

27/06/2024

Our traditional “Summer welcoming“ garden party 🎉 🎊 - a way to thank all my team, postdocs and students for their hard work, enthusiasm, and energy over the last year ❤️🙏

Cilia Abad
Ramon Portillo
Veronika Váchalová
Tetiana Synova
Fiona Kumnova
Mohammad Rida Ghaddar

17/06/2024

We have just returned from yet another great meeting - the EPPW (European Placenta Perfusion Workshop) held at Erasmus University, Rotterdam. Many great talks (including ours 😝 Mohammad Rida Ghaddar Veronika Váchalová) and plenty of socializing 🍺🥩😉
Looking forward to the next conference - IFPA (International Federation of Professional Aromatherapists) in Montreal 🇨🇦

06/05/2024

Fully Funded Postdoctoral Research Positions opened in the Placenta in Health and Disease research team. If you are interested, read the details and contact us. Please feel free to share the ad 🙏