A Primary Human Trophoblast Model to Study the Effect of Inflammation Associated with Maternal Obesity on Regulation of Autophagy in the Placenta

Presented here is a protocol for sampling of human placental villous tissue followed by isolation of cytotrophoblasts for primary cell culture. Treatment of trophoblasts with TNFα recapitulates inflammation in the obese intrauterine environment and facilitates the discovery of molecular targets regulated by inflammation in placentas with maternal obesity.