PUBLICATION
Involvement of nephrin in human placental trophoblast syncytialization
- Authors
- Li, Y., Zheng, R., Wang, R., Lu, X., Zhu, C., Lin, H., Wang, H., Yu, X., Fu, J.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-150124-6
- Date
- 2015
- Source
- Reproduction (Cambridge, England) 149(4): 339-46 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Li, Yue
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Blotting, Western
- Cell Differentiation*
- Cell Fusion
- Cells, Cultured
- Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human/genetics
- Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human/metabolism
- Connexin 43/genetics
- Connexin 43/metabolism
- Female
- Giant Cells/cytology*
- Giant Cells/metabolism
- Humans
- Immunoenzyme Techniques
- Membrane Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors
- Membrane Proteins/genetics
- Membrane Proteins/metabolism*
- Mice
- Placenta/cytology*
- Placenta/metabolism
- Pregnancy
- Pregnancy Proteins/genetics
- Pregnancy Proteins/metabolism
- RNA, Messenger/genetics
- RNA, Small Interfering/genetics
- Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
- Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
- Trophoblasts/cytology*
- Trophoblasts/metabolism
- PubMed
- 25614620 Full text @ Reproduction
Citation
Li, Y., Zheng, R., Wang, R., Lu, X., Zhu, C., Lin, H., Wang, H., Yu, X., Fu, J. (2015) Involvement of nephrin in human placental trophoblast syncytialization. Reproduction (Cambridge, England). 149(4):339-46.
Abstract
The placenta has numerous functions, such as transporting oxygen and nutrients and building the immune tolerance of the fetus. Cell fusion is an essential process for placental development and maturation. In human placental development, mononucleated cytotrophoblast (CTB) cells can fuse to form a multinucleated syncytiotrophoblast (STB), which is the outermost layer of the placenta. Nephrin is a transmembrane protein that belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily. Previous studies have shown that nephrin contributes to the fusion of myoblasts into myotubes in zebrafish and mice, presenting a functional conservation with its Drosophila ortholog Sticks and stones (Sns). However, whether nephrin is involved in trophoblast syncytialization remains unclear. We report here that nephrin was localized predominantly in the CTB cells and STB of human placenta villi from first trimester to term pregnancy. Using a spontaneous fusion model of primary CTB cells, the expression of nephrin was found to be increased during trophoblast cell fusion. Moreover, the spontaneous syncytialization as well as the expression of syncytin 2, connexin 43 and β-hCG were significantly inhibited by nephrin-specific siRNAs. The above results demonstrate that nephrin plays an important role in trophoblast syncytialization.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping