MB

Placenta Research

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”
– Albert Einstein

Why the placenta

Do you know where you come from?

It is very likely you are thinking about the belly of your mother, but do you ever think of the placenta that connected you with her? This organ used to be your own organ – not your mother’s – that was formed from the same clump of cells as your own body. While in the belly of your mother, your placenta was a real multitasker, taking over all the things you couldn’t do yourself: eat, breath and remove waste products.

Despite its importance for our existence, we yet know very little about the placenta. Likely because we don’t need it anymore after we are born. We do however know that problems with placental function during pregnancy can lead to diseases as we grow older. So in a sense, the function of your placenta when you were in the belly of your mother, still (partly) determines your health right in this moment.

Explaining science matter

My research

In my research I study how the placenta functions and how these functions change with diseases that occur during pregnancy. Through this approach I aim to identify ways to improve the function of the placenta during pregnancy diseases and thereby the health of the mother and child.

Passionate about communicating science, I created the placenta magazine to share my research findings with all. Click the buttons below the cover image to read more. Or – if you dare – take a deep dive into my PhD thesis Placental Origins of Health & Disease.

Placenta Magazine
ENGLISH
DUTCH

Societal Impact

“Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done”
– Louis D. Brandeis

An adventure outside academia

Societal Impact Through Purpose Accelerator

Six PhD students from different fields + one challenge:
A significant portion of Rotterdam’s youth has few or no opportunities to find a suitable workplace. For example due to unstable circumstances, mental health issues, addiction, criminality, and a lack of a social safety net. These young people are most often out-of-reach to the municipality, leading to lacking engagement with existing support programs.

Our team set out the mission to optimise the guidence of the out-of-reach youth to appropriate education or employment trajectories in Rotterdam by creating a common language and optimize the collaboration between the municipality and social enterprises that have experience with reaching the out-of-reach youth. This project has led us to develop two deliverables: the board game Stads(B)engels and the guide Samen Sterker voor Rotterdam for social entrepreneurs and civil servants of the municipality in Rotterdam. These tools will optimise their collaboration and provide the next step to ensure young people from Rotterdam for whom finding a job is not so obvious, can still be guided into employment.

Purpose accelerator is a program by Thrive Institute that aims to explore and develop out-of-the-box solutions using expertise from a multidisciplinary group of PhD researchers, and offers a learning experience to develop teamworking skills, project management, product developm

List of Publications

  • Tan L, Kluivers ACM, Cruz-López EO, Broekhuizen M, Chen Z, Neuman RI, Schoenmakers S, Ruijgrok L, van de Velde D, de Winter BCM, van den Bogaerdt AJ, Lu X, Danser AHJ, Verdonk K. Statins Prevent the Deleterious Consequences of Placental Chemerin Upregulation in Preeclampsia. Hypertension. 2024 Feb 15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.123.22457
  • Horn-Oudshoorn EJJ*, Broekhuizen M*, Harhangi MS, Simons SHP, Eggink AJ, Danser AHJ, Reiss IKM, DeKoninck PLJ. Vascular reactivity is altered in the placentas of fetuses with congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Placenta. 2024 Jan;145:51-59. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.placenta.2023.11.015
    * These authors contributed equally to this study and share first authorship.
  • van Zundert SK*, Broekhuizen M*, Smit AJ, van Rossem L, Mirzaian M, Willemsen SP, Danser AJ, De Rijke YB, Reiss IK, Merkus D, Steegers-Theunissen RP. The Role of the Kynurenine Pathway in the (Patho) physiology of Maternal Pregnancy and Fetal Outcomes: A Systematic Review. Int J Tryptophan Res. 2022;15:11786469221135545. DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/11786469221135545
    * These authors contributed equally to this study and share first authorship.
  • Chen Z, Peeters RP, Leeuwenburgh S, Broekhuizen M, Neuman RI, Hitzerd E, Tan L, Jongejan RMS, de Rijke YB, Reiss IKM, Danser AHJ, Visser WE, Meima ME. Asymmetrical Transport of Thyroxine Across Human Term Placenta. Thyroid. 2023 May;33(5):625-631. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/thy.2022.0406
  • Broekhuizen M, de Vries R, Smits MAW, Dik WA, Schoenmakers S, Koch BCP, Merkus D, Reiss IKM, Danser AHJ, Simons SHP, Hitzerd E. Pentoxifylline as a therapeutic option for pre-eclampsia: a study on its placental effects. Br J Pharmacology. 2022;1-15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.15931
  • Schneider H, Albrecht C, Ahmed MS, Broekhuizen M, Aengenheister L, Buerki-Thurnherr T, Danser AHJ, Gil S, Hansson SR, Greupink R, Lewis RM, Markert UR, Mathiesen L, Powles-Glover N, Wadsack C, Brownbill P. Ex vivo dual perfusion of an isolated human placenta cotyledon: Towards protocol standardization and improved inter-center comparability. Placenta. 2022;126:83-89. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.placenta.2022.05.003
  • Langerak T, Broekhuizen M, Unger PA, Tan L, Koopmans M, van Gorp E, Danser AHJ, Rockx B. Transplacental Zika virus transmission in ex vivo perfused human placentas. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2022 Apr 20;16(4):e0010359. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010359
  • Neuman RI, Baars MD, Saleh L, Broekhuizen M, Nieboer D, Cornette J, Schoenmakers S, Verhoeven M, Koch BCP, Russcher H, van den Berg SAA, van den Meiracker AH, Visser W, Danser AHJ. Omeprazole Administration in Preterm Preeclampsia: a Randomized Controlled Trial to Study Its Effect on sFlt-1 (Soluble Fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase-1), PlGF (Placental Growth Factor), and ET-1 (Endothelin-1). Hypertension. 2022 Jun;79(6):1297-1307. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/hypertensionaha.122.19070
  • Broekhuizen M, Hitzerd E, van den Bosch TPP, Dumas J, Verdijk RM, van Rijn BB, Danser AHJ, van Eijck CHJ, Reiss IKM, Mustafa DAM. The Placental Innate Immune System Is Altered in Early-Onset Preeclampsia, but Not in Late-Onset Preeclampsia. Front Immunol. 2021 Dec 21;12:780043. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.780043
  • Broekhuizen M, Danser AHJ, Reiss IKM, Merkus D. The Function of the Kynurenine Pathway in the Placenta: A Novel Pharmacotherapeutic Target? Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Nov 3;18(21):11545. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111545
  • Sun Y, Tan L, Neuman RI, Broekhuizen M, Schoenmakers S, Lu X, Danser AHJ. Megalin, Proton Pump Inhibitors and the Renin-Angiotensin System in Healthy and Pre-Eclamptic Placentas. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Jul 10;22(14):7407. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22147407
  • Schoenmakers S, Snijder P, Verdijk RM, Kuiken T, Kamphuis SSM, Koopman LP, Krasemann TB, Rousian M, Broekhuizen M, Steegers EAP, Koopmans MPG, Fraaij PLA, Reiss IKM. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Placental Infection and Inflammation Leading to Fetal Distress and Neonatal Multi-Organ Failure in an Asymptomatic Woman. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2020 Dec 26:piaa153. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jpids/piaa153
  • Broekhuizen M, Klein T, Hitzerd E, de Rijke YB, Schoenmakers S, Sedlmayr P, Danser AHJ, Merkus D, Reiss IKM. l-Tryptophan-Induced Vasodilation Is Enhanced in Preeclampsia: Studies on Its Uptake and Metabolism in the Human Placenta. Hypertension. 2020 Jul;76(1):184-194. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/hypertensionaha.120.14970
  • Hitzerd E, Neuman RI, Broekhuizen M, Simons SHP, Schoenmakers S, Reiss IKM, Koch BCP, van den Meiracker AH, Versmissen J, Visser W, Danser AHJ. Transfer and Vascular Effect of Endothelin Receptor Antagonists in the Human Placenta. Hypertension. 2020 Mar;75(3):877-884. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/hypertensionaha.119.14183
  • van de Wouw J*, Broekhuizen M*, Sorop O, Joles JA, Verhaar MC, Duncker DJ, Danser AHJ, Merkus D. Chronic Kidney Disease as a Risk Factor for Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: A Focus on Microcirculatory Factors and Therapeutic Targets. Front Physiol. 2019 Sep 4;10:1108. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.01108
    * These authors contributed equally to this study and share first authorship.
  • Hitzerd E, Broekhuizen M, Mirabito Colafella KM, Glisic M, de Vries R, Koch BCP, de Raaf MA, Merkus D, Schoenmakers S, Reiss IKM, Danser AHJ, Simons SHP. Placental effects and transfer of sildenafil in healthy and preeclamptic conditions. EBioMedicine. 2019 Jul;45:447-455. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.06.007
  • Hitzerd E, Broekhuizen M, Neuman RI, Colafella KMM, Merkus D, Schoenmakers S, Simons SHP, Reiss IKM, Danser AHJ. Human Placental Vascular Reactivity in Health and Disease: Implications for the Treatment of Pre-eclampsia. Curr Pharm Des. 2019;25(5):505-527. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2174/1381612825666190405145228
  • Bagchi-Chakraborty J, Francis A, Bray T, Masters L, Tsiantoulas D, Nus M, Harrison J, Broekhuizen M, Leggat J, Clatworthy MR, Espéli M, Smith KGC, Binder CJ, Mallat Z, Sage AP. B Cell Fcγ Receptor IIb Modulates Atherosclerosis in Male and Female Mice by Controlling Adaptive Germinal Center and Innate B-1-Cell Responses. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2019 Jul;39(7):1379-1389. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/atvbaha.118.312272