Hofbauer cells are oval

eosinophilic Eosinophilic (Greek suffix -phil-, meaning ''loves eosin'') is the staining of tissues, cells, or organelles after they have been washed with eosin, a dye. Eosin is an acidic dye for staining cell cytoplasm, collagen, and muscle fibers. ''Eosi ...

histiocyte A histiocyte is a vertebrate cell that is part of the mononuclear phagocyte system (also known as the reticuloendothelial system or lymphoreticular system). The mononuclear phagocytic system is part of the organism's immune system. The histiocyt ...

s with granules and

vacuole A vacuole () is a membrane-bound organelle which is present in plant and fungal cells and some protist, animal, and bacterial cells. Vacuoles are essentially enclosed compartments which are filled with water containing inorganic and organic mo ...

s found in the

placenta The placenta is a temporary embryonic and later fetal organ that begins developing from the blastocyst shortly after implantation. It plays critical roles in facilitating nutrient, gas and waste exchange between the physically separate mater ...

, which are of

mesenchymal Mesenchyme () is a type of loosely organized animal embryonic connective tissue of undifferentiated cells that give rise to most tissues, such as skin, blood or bone. The interactions between mesenchyme and epithelium help to form nearly every o ...

origin, in

mesoderm The mesoderm is the middle layer of the three germ layers that develops during gastrulation in the very early development of the embryo of most animals. The outer layer is the ectoderm, and the inner layer is the endoderm.Langman's Medical E ...

of the

chorionic villus Chorionic villi are villi that sprout from the chorion to provide maximal contact area with maternal blood. They are an essential element in pregnancy from a histomorphologic perspective, and are, by definition, a product of conception. Branche ...

, particularly numerous in early

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...

Etymology

They are named after J. Isfred Isidore Hofbauer (1871-1961), a German-American gynecologist who described the cell type in his book (''Biology of the Human Placenta with a special emphasis on the question of fetal nourishment'').

Function

They are believed to be a type of

macrophage Macrophages (abbreviated as M φ, MΦ or MP) ( el, large eaters, from Greek ''μακρός'' (') = large, ''φαγεῖν'' (') = to eat) are a type of white blood cell of the immune system that engulfs and digests pathogens, such as cancer cel ...

and are most likely involved in preventing the transmission of

pathogens In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...

from the mother to the

fetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal deve ...

(

vertical transmission Vertical transmission of symbionts is the transfer of a microbial symbiont from the parent directly to the offspring. Many metazoan species carry symbiotic bacteria which play a mutualistic, commensal, or parasitic role. A symbiont is acquire ...

). Although there are many studies concerning placental vasculogenesis and angiogenesis, there has been a lack of evidence on the possible roles of Hofbauer cells in these processes. According to a systems level single-cell transcriptomics based study of human placental cell-cell communication, Hofbauer cells produce HBEGF, an EGFR ligand, which drives differentiation of villous cytotrophoblasts (VCT) towards syncytiotrophoblasts (SCT).

Histology

Under histology sections, Hofbauer cells have appeared with discernible amount of cytoplasm.

References

Macrophages American people of Austrian descent {{developmental-biology-stub

Etymology

Function

Histology

See also

References