The placenta’s hidden role in mental health

A groundbreaking finding challenges conventional understanding of stress responses during pregnancy that could potentially revolutionise our understanding of pregnancy-related anxiety and depression.

Professor Clifton, a maternal health expert professor at Mater Research Institute-University of Queensland, and her team, has identified 13 distinct glucocorticoid receptor isoforms in the placenta, with one particular variant showing a surprising response to maternal stress.

“We have discovered that the placenta has 13 different isoforms of the glucocorticoid receptor, with one isoform expressed in the presence of maternal stress, anxiety, and depression that activates an inflammatory response in the placenta in the presence of high cortisol concentrations,” Professor Clifton explains.

While most glucocorticoid receptors typically suppress inflammation, this newly identified variant appears to enhance it, potentially explaining the complex relationship between stress and inflammation in pregnant women.

Sex-specific medicine: A new frontier

Professor Clifton’s research has unveiled crucial differences between male and female foetuses, mediated through sex-specific placental functions.

“Presently, we do not consider the sex of the foetus in Obstetrics,” she notes. “I would like to see sex-specific medicine for pregnancy complications, for the care of preterm neonates, and for the care of newborns.”

Her work suggests that maternal physiology varies depending on foetal sex, opening new possibilities for personalised interventions in pregnancy care. This insight could transform how clinicians approach pregnancy complications and neonatal care.

From personal experience to scientific innovation

The interview reveals how personal tragedy shaped Professor Clifton’s research focus. Following the loss of her son in mid-gestation, she was driven to understand “What went wrong?”.

This experience led her to study placental function and its regulation by stress hormones, eventually establishing Australia’s largest birth cohort study at Mater Research Institute.

Professor Clifton’s team is investigating how placental inflammation might influence maternal brain function, potentially exacerbating anxiety and depression symptoms during pregnancy. This research could revolutionise our approach to perinatal mental health care and lead to targeted interventions based on placental function.