A variety of 'debris' is shed from the syncytial surface of the human placenta ranging from
large deported multinuclear fragments to sub-cellular components. It is increasingly clear
that at least some of this material has signalling functions. Many categories of circulating
debris are increased in pre-eclampsia, and exhibit proteins that are pro-inflammatory and
could contribute to the systemic inflammatory response in normal pregnancy, which is
exaggerated in pre-eclampsia. It is now evident that there is a large 'hidden'population of …