Single-cell analysis of prostaglandin E2-induced human decidual cell in vitro differentiation: A minimal ancestral deciduogenic signal

Author(s):  
Daniel J Stadtmauer ◽  
Günter P Wagner

Abstract The decidua is a hallmark of reproduction in many placental mammals. Differentiation of decidual stromal cells is known to be induced by progesterone and the cyclic AMP/protein kinase A (cAMP/PKA) pathway. Several candidates have been identified as the physiological stimulus for adenylyl cyclase activation, but their relative importance remains unclear. To bypass this uncertainty, the standard approach for in vitro experiments uses membrane-permeable cyclic AMP and progestin. We phylogenetically infer that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) likely was the signal that ancestrally induced decidualization in conjunction with progesterone. This suggests that PGE2 and progestin should be able to activate the core gene regulatory network of decidual cells. To test this prediction we performed a genome-wide study of gene expression in human endometrial fibroblasts decidualized with PGE2 and progestin. Comparison to a cAMP-based protocol revealed shared activation of core decidual genes, and decreased induction of senescence-associated genes. Single-cell transcriptomics of PGE2-mediated decidualization revealed a distinct early activated state transitioning to a differentiated decidual state. PGE2-mediated decidualization was found to depend upon progestin-dependent induction of PGE2 receptor 2 (PTGER2) which in turn leads to PKA activation upon PGE2 stimulation. Progesterone-dependent induction of PTGER2 is absent in opossum, an outgroup taxon of placental mammals which is incapable of decidualization. Together, these findings suggest that the origin of decidualization involved the evolution of progesterone-dependent activation of the PGE2/PTGER2/PKA axis, facilitating entry into a PKA-dominant rather than AKT-dominant cellular state. We propose the use of PGE2 for in vitro decidualization as an alternative to 8-Br-cAMP.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Stadtmauer ◽  
Günter P. Wagner

AbstractDevelopment of the uterine decidua, the transient maternal tissue contacting the fetus during extended gestation, is the hallmark of reproduction in many placental mammals. Differentiation of decidual stromal cells is known to be induced by stimuli that activate the nuclear progesterone receptor and the cyclic AMP/protein kinase A (cAMP/PKA) pathways. The nature of the stimulus upstream of PKA has not been clearly defined, although a number of candidates have been proposed. To bypass this uncertainty for in vitro experiments, direct addition of membrane-permeable cAMP along with progestin has been the prevailing method. Phylogenetic inference suggests that the inflammatory eicosanoid prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was the stimulus that ancestrally induced decidualization. Accordingly, we developed a protocol to decidualize human endometrial stromal fibroblasts using progestin and PGE2 and analyzed the response in comparison with a cAMP-based protocol. Transcriptomic comparison reveals a common activation of core decidual cell genes between both treatments, and a set of senescence-related genes exaggerated under cAMP treatment. Single-cell transcriptomic analysis of PGE2-mediated decidualization revealed a major transcriptomic transition between an early activated cell state and a differentiated decidual state, but notably did not identify a developmental trajectory representing a distinct senescent decidual state as reported in recent literature. Furthermore, investigation of the signal transduction process underlying PGE2-mediated decidualization showed that it depends upon progestin-dependent induction of PGE2 receptor 2 (PTGER2 aka EP2) and PKA, the kinase activated by PTGER2. This progesterone-dependent induction of PTGER2 is absent in the opossum, a species incapable of decidualization. Together, these findings suggest that the origin of the decidual cell type involved the evolution of progesterone-dependent activation of the PGE2/EP2/PKA axis. We propose the use of PGE2 for in vitro decidualization studies as a potentially more physiological model than 8-Br-cAMP.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma S Lucas ◽  
Pavle Vrljicak ◽  
Joanne Muter ◽  
Maria M Diniz-da-Costa ◽  
Paul J Brighton ◽  
...  

AbstractBreakdown of the feto-maternal interface in early pregnancy causes miscarriage. The cycling endometrium becomes poised to transition to a pregnant state during the midluteal implantation window, coinciding with differentiation of stromal cells into decidual cells (DC) and emergence of senescent decidual cells (snDC). Emerging evidence suggests that DC engage uterine natural killer cells to eliminate their senescent counterparts, thus enabling formation of a robust decidual matrix in pregnancy. To examine if failure to constrain snDC during the peri-implantation window increases the risk of miscarriage, we reconstructed the decidual pathway at single-cell levelin vitroand demonstrated that, without immune surveillance, secondary senescence rapidly transforms DC into progesterone-resistant cells that abundantly express extracellular matrix remodelling factors. Additional single-cell analysis of midluteal endometrium identifiedDIO2andSCARA5as marker genes of a diverging decidual responsein vivo. Finally, we report a conspicuous link between a pro-senescent decidual response in luteal phase endometrium and recurrent pregnancy loss, suggesting that pre-pregnancy screening and intervention may reduce the burden of miscarriage.


2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (10) ◽  
pp. 1566-1571 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. S. Bukatin ◽  
I. S. Mukhin ◽  
E. I. Malyshev ◽  
I. V. Kukhtevich ◽  
A. A. Evstrapov ◽  
...  

2000 ◽  
Vol 164 (6) ◽  
pp. 3047-3055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dragana Jankovic ◽  
Marika C. Kullberg ◽  
Nancy Noben-Trauth ◽  
Patricia Caspar ◽  
William E. Paul ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomislav Sarenac ◽  
Martin Trapecar ◽  
Lidija Gradisnik ◽  
Marjan Slak Rupnik ◽  
Dusica Pahor

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongyu Zhao ◽  
Yu Teng ◽  
Wende Hao ◽  
Jie Li ◽  
Zhefeng Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Ovarian cancer was one of the leading causes of female deaths. Patients with OC were essentially incurable and portends a poor prognosis, presumably because of profound genetic heterogeneity limiting reproducible prognostic classifications. Methods We comprehensively analyzed an ovarian cancer single-cell RNA sequencing dataset, GSE118828, and identified nine major cell types. Relationship between the clusters was explored with CellPhoneDB. A malignant epithelial cluster was confirmed using pseudotime analysis, CNV and GSVA. Furthermore, we constructed the prediction model (i.e., RiskScore) consisted of 10 prognosis-specific genes from 2397 malignant epithelial genes using the LASSO Cox regression algorithm based on public datasets. Then, the prognostic value of Riskscore was assessed with Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and time-dependent ROC curves. At last, a series of in-vitro assays were conducted to explore the roles of IL4I1, an important gene in Riskscore, in OC progression. Results We found that macrophages possessed the most interaction pairs with other clusters, and M2-like TAMs were the dominant type of macrophages. C0 was identified as the malignant epithelial cluster. Patients with a lower RiskScore had a greater OS (log-rank P < 0.01). In training set, the AUC of RiskScore was 0.666, 0.743 and 0.809 in 1-year, 3-year and 5-year survival, respectively. This was also validated in another two cohorts. Moreover, downregulation of IL4I1 inhibited OC cells proliferation, migration and invasion. Conclusions Our work provide novel insights into our understanding of the heterogeneity among OCs, and would help elucidate the biology of OC and provide clinical guidance in prognosis for OC patients.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albebson L. Lim ◽  
Philip Moos ◽  
Christopher D. Pond ◽  
Erica C. Larson ◽  
Laura J. Martins ◽  
...  

AbstractHIV-1 cDNA pre-integration complexes have been shown to persist for weeks in macrophages and to be transcriptionally active. Early and late gene transcripts are produced, along with some viral proteins, yet whole virus is not. While previous work has focused on the transcription and translation of HIV-1 genes; our understanding of cellular milieu that accompanies viral production is incomplete. We have used an in vitro system to model HIV-1 infection of macrophages, and single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to compare the transcriptomes of uninfected cells, cells harboring pre-integration HIV-1 complexes (PIC) and those containing integrated provirus and actively making late HIV proteins. These are also compared to control cells, not exposed to virus.Several observations provide new perspective on the effects of HIV-1 transcription from pre-integrated cDNA versus from integrated provirus. First, HIV-1 transcript levels do not necessarily correlate with virus production, cells harboring PIC cDNA have transcript loads comparable to cells transcribing from provirus and making p24, mCherry, and vpu proteins. Second, all HIV-1 transcripts are easily detectable in abundance from PIC cDNA transcription, as is the case with cells transcribing from provirus, although the frequency of PIC cells with detectable gag-pol, tat, env, and nef transcripts is higher than the corresponding frequencies observed for “Provirus cells”. Third, the background transcriptomes of cells harboring pre- integrated HIV-1 cDNA are not otherwise detectably altered from cells not containing any HIV- 1 transcript. Fourth, integration and production of p24, mCherry, and Vpu proteins is accompanied by a switch from transcriptomes characterized by NFkB and AP-1 promoted transcription to a transcriptome characterized by E2F family transcription products. While some of these observations may seem heretical, single cell analysis provides a more nuanced understanding of PIC cDNA transcription and the transcriptomic changes that support HIV-1 protein production from integrated provirus.Author SummarySingle cell analysis is able to distinguish between HIV-1 infected macrophage cells that are transcribing pre-integrated HIV-1 cDNA and those transcribing HIV-1 provirus. Only cells transcribing HIV-1 provirus are making p24, marker mCherry and Vpu proteins, which corresponds with a change in the host cell’s background transcriptome from one expressing viral restriction and immunological response genes to one that is expressing genes associated with cell replication and oxidative phosphorylation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 670-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Li ◽  
Risako Yang ◽  
Chenghong Yin ◽  
Kehkooi Kee

Abstract BACKGROUND Understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of human reproductive development has been limited by the scarcity of human samples and ethical constraints. Recently, in vitro differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into germ cells and single-cell analyses have opened new avenues to directly study human germ cells and identify unique mechanisms in human reproductive development. OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE The goal of this review is to collate novel findings and insightful discoveries with these new methodologies, aiming at introducing researchers and clinicians to the use of these tools to study human reproductive biology and develop treatments for infertility. SEARCH METHODS PubMed was used to search articles and reviews with the following main keywords: in vitro differentiation, human stem cells, single-cell analysis, spermatogenesis, oogenesis, germ cells and other key terms related to these subjects. The search period included all publications from 2000 until now. OUTCOMES Single-cell analyses of human gonads have identified many important gene markers at different developmental stages and in subpopulations of cells. To validate the functional roles of these gene markers, researchers have used the in vitro differentiation of human pluripotent cells into germ cells and confirmed that some genetic requirements are unique in human germ cells and are not conserved in mouse models. Moreover, transcriptional regulatory networks and the interaction of germ and somatic cells in gonads were elucidated in these studies. WIDER IMPLICATIONS Single-cell analyses allow researchers to identify gene markers and potential regulatory networks using limited clinical samples. On the other hand, in vitro differentiation methods provide clinical researchers with tools to examine these newly identify gene markers and study the causative effects of mutations previously associated with infertility. Combining these two methodologies, researchers can identify gene markers and networks which are essential and unique in human reproductive development, thereby producing more accurate diagnostic tools for assessing reproductive disorders and developing treatments for infertility.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1407-1417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Civitelli ◽  
Brian J. Bacskai ◽  
Martyn P. Mahaut-Smith ◽  
Stephen R. Adams ◽  
Louis V. Avioli ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 173 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Yin ◽  
Jacob Steven Siracusa ◽  
Emily Measel ◽  
Xueling Guan ◽  
Clayton Edenfield ◽  
...  

Abstract Emerging data indicate that structural analogs of bisphenol A (BPA) such as bisphenol S (BPS), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), and bisphenol AF (BPAF) have been introduced into the market as substitutes for BPA. Our previous study compared in vitro testicular toxicity using murine C18-4 spermatogonial cells and found that BPAF and TBBPA exhibited higher spermatogonial toxicities as compared with BPA and BPS. Recently, we developed a novel in vitro three-dimensional (3D) testicular cell co-culture model, enabling the classification of reproductive toxic substances. In this study, we applied the testicular cell co-culture model and employed a high-content image (HCA)-based single-cell analysis to further compare the testicular toxicities of BPA and its analogs. We also developed a machine learning (ML)-based HCA pipeline to examine the complex phenotypic changes associated with testicular toxicities. We found dose- and time-dependent changes in a wide spectrum of adverse endpoints, including nuclear morphology, DNA synthesis, DNA damage, and cytoskeletal structure in a single-cell-based analysis. The co-cultured testicular cells were more sensitive than the C18 spermatogonial cells in response to BPA and its analogs. Unlike conventional population-averaged assays, single-cell-based assays not only showed the levels of the averaged population, but also revealed changes in the sub-population. Machine learning-based phenotypic analysis revealed that treatment of BPA and its analogs resulted in the loss of spatial cytoskeletal structure, and an accumulation of M phase cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, treatment of BPAF-induced multinucleated cells, which were associated with altered DNA damage response and impaired cellular F-actin filaments. Overall, we demonstrated a new and effective means to evaluate multiple toxic endpoints in the testicular co-culture model through the combination of ML and high-content image-based single-cell analysis. This approach provided an in-depth analysis of the multi-dimensional HCA data and provided an unbiased quantitative analysis of the phenotypes of interest.


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