Atlas of amnion development during the first trimester of human pregnancy

The amnion is a critical extra-embryonic structure that supports foetal development, yet its ontogeny remains poorly defined. Here, using single-cell transcriptomics, we identified major cell types and subtypes in the human amnion across the first trimester of pregnancy, broadly categorized into epithelial, mesenchymal and macrophage lineages. We uncovered epithelial-mesenchymal and epithelial-immune transitions, highlighting dynamic remodelling during early pregnancy. Our results further revealed key intercellular communication pathways, including BMP4 signalling from mesenchymal to epithelial cells and TGF-β signalling from macrophages to mesenchymal cells, suggesting coordinated interactions that drive amnion morphogenesis. In addition, integrative comparisons across humans, non-human primates and in vitro stem cell-based models reveal that stem cell-based models recapitulate various stages of amnion development, emphasizing the need for careful selection of model systems to accurately recapitulate in vivo amnion formation. Collectively, our findings provide a detailed view of amnion cellular composition and interactions, advancing our understanding of its developmental role and regenerative potential.