{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T20:58:35Z","timestamp":1792789115631,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,24]],"date-time":"2025-12-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1766534400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology","award":["13610"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["13610"]}]},{"name":"SC USUGYN SAFE SRL"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a condition in which a fetus does not reach its normal growth potential and is associated with increased neonatal morbidity. Surveillance relies on cardiotocography, a biophysical ultrasound, and a Doppler assessment, but placental pathology remains insufficiently integrated into clinical evaluations. This study aimed to compare placentas from IUGR and normal pregnancies. Methods: This cohort included 34 pregnancies (16 IUGR, 18 controls) managed at Hunedoara County Hospital (Romania). The ultrasound and Doppler parameters were documented. The placentas were collected after delivery, fixed in formalin, and processed using standard histopathological protocols. The villous morphology and maternal vascular malperfusion features were assessed on H&amp;E sections, focusing on syncytial knots, villous caliber reduction, stromal fibrosis, fibrin deposition, and infarctions. Immunohistochemistry for CD34, cytokeratin 7 (CK7), CD68, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and Hypoxian inducible factor 1 (HIF-1\u03b1)was performed using a semi-quantitative 0\u20133 scoring system. A statistical analysis was performed using chi-squared testing for categorical variables and t-tests for continuous variables. Results: The ultrasound evaluation showed an estimated fetal weight below the 10th percentile and abnormal Doppler indices in the IUGR group. The histopathology demonstrated a strong association between IUGR and villous abnormalities, including an increased number of syncytial knots, stromal fibrosis, a reduced villous caliber, and placental infarctions. The immunohistochemistry showed a marked overexpression of VEGF and HIF-1\u03b1 and increased CD68-positive Hofbauer cells in IUGR placentas (p &lt; 0.0001), while CD34 and CK7 displayed preserved strong staining in both groups. Conclusions: Placentas from IUGR pregnancies exhibited advanced maternal vascular malperfusion with consistent hypoxic and inflammatory changes, correlating with Doppler alterations. These findings highlight the diagnostic relevance of placental pathology in pregnancies with IUGR.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics16010060","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,24]],"date-time":"2025-12-24T12:22:27Z","timestamp":1766578947000},"page":"60","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Histopathological Characteristics of Placenta in Pregnancies Complicated by Intrauterine Growth Restriction\u2014A Pilot Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Liviu","family":"Moraru","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomy, \u201cGeorge Emil Palade\u201d University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Raluca","family":"Moraru","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomy, \u201cGeorge Emil Palade\u201d University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Diana Maria","family":"Chiorean","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathophysiology, \u201cGeorge Emil Palade\u201d University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, 38 Gheorghe Marinescu Street, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Pathology, County Clinical Hospital of Targu Mures, 540072 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6467-6275","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Septimiu","family":"Void\u0103zan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology, \u201cGeorge Emil Palade\u201d University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lorena","family":"Solov\u0103stru","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Normal and Pathological Morphology Laboratory, Center for Advanced Medical and Pharmaceutical Research, \u201cGeorge Emil Palade\u201d University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1596-6353","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Melinda-Ildiko","family":"Mitranovici","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral School of Medicine and Pharmacy, \u201cGeorge Emil Palade\u201d University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Emergency County Hospital Hunedoara, 14 Victoriei Street, 331057 Hunedoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"177","DOI":"10.30699\/jogcr.7.3.177","article-title":"Intrauterine growth restriction with and without pre-eclampsia: Pregnancy outcome and placental findings","volume":"7","author":"Morady","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. 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