Fig. 2.

Viability, morphology, and functionality of placental explants over 7 days. MTT absorbance per g wet weight in three individual placentas measured in triplicates (a). Bars represent mean ± SD. Explants before (left) and after (right) 3 h of MTT exposure in control conditions (b). H&E stainings and hCG immunohistochemical staining of placental tissue on days 1,4 and 7 of culture (c). Fetal villi are clearly discernable at all time points but some loss of tissue coherence can be observed at the later time points. Syncytiotrophoblasts stained positive for hCG at all time points