scholarly journals Loss of imprinting of the Igf2-H19 ICR1 enhances placental endocrine capacity via sex-specific alterations in signalling pathways in the mouse

Development ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany R. L. Aykroyd ◽  
Simon J. Tunster ◽  
Amanda N. Sferruzzi-Perri

ABSTRACT Imprinting control region (ICR1) controls the expression of the Igf2 and H19 genes in a parent-of-origin specific manner. Appropriate expression of the Igf2-H19 locus is fundamental for normal fetal development, yet the importance of ICR1 in the placental production of hormones that promote maternal nutrient allocation to the fetus is unknown. To address this, we used a novel mouse model to selectively delete ICR1 in the endocrine junctional zone (Jz) of the mouse placenta (Jz-ΔICR1). The Jz-ΔICR1 mice exhibit increased Igf2 and decreased H19 expression specifically in the Jz. This was accompanied by an expansion of Jz endocrine cell types due to enhanced rates of proliferation and increased expression of pregnancy-specific glycoprotein 23 in the placenta of both fetal sexes. However, changes in the endocrine phenotype of the placenta were related to sexually-dimorphic alterations to the abundance of Igf2 receptors and downstream signalling pathways (Pi3k-Akt and Mapk). There was no effect of Jz-ΔICR1 on the expression of targets of the H19-embedded miR-675 or on fetal weight. Our results demonstrate that ICR1 controls placental endocrine capacity via sex-dependent changes in signalling.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany R.L. Aykroyd ◽  
Simon J Tunster ◽  
Amanda N Sferruzzi-Perri

Imprinting control region (ICR1) controls the expression of the Igf2 and H19 genes in a parent-of-origin specific manner. Appropriate expression of the Igf2-H19 locus is fundamental for normal fetal development, yet the importance of ICR1 in the placental production of hormones that promote maternal nutrient allocation to the fetus is unknown. To address this, we used a novel mouse model to selectively delete ICR1 in the endocrine junctional zone (Jz) of the mouse placenta (Jz-ΔICR1). The Jz-ΔICR1 mice exhibit increased Igf2 and decreased H19 expression specifically in the Jz. This was accompanied by an expansion of Jz endocrine cell types due to enhanced rates of proliferation and increased expression of pregnancy-specific glycoprotein 23 in the placenta of both fetal sexes. However, changes in the endocrine phenotype of the placenta were related sexually-dimorphic alterations to the abundance of IGF2 receptors and downstream signalling pathways (PI3K-AKT and MAPK). There was no effect of Jz-ΔICR1 on the expression of targets of the H19 embedded miR-675 or on fetal weight. Our results demonstrate that ICR1 controls placental endocrine capacity via sex-dependant changes in signalling.  


1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1677-1683 ◽  
Author(s):  
C J Thiele ◽  
P S Cohen ◽  
M A Israel

We detected expression of the c-myb proto-oncogene, which was initially thought to be expressed in a tissue-specific manner in cells of hematopoietic lineage, in human tissues of neuronal origin. Since the level of c-myb expression declined during fetal development, we studied the regulation of its expression in human neuroblastoma cell lines induced to differentiate by retinoic acid. The expression of c-myb declined during the maturation of neuroblastoma cells, and this change was mediated by a decrease in c-myb transcription.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 1287-1293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuri K. Sinzato ◽  
Estela M. Bevilacqua ◽  
Gustavo T. Volpato ◽  
Rogelio E. Hernandez-Pando ◽  
Marilza V. C. Rudge ◽  
...  

The diabetic syndrome affects pregnancy, contributing to placental functional and structural disruptions and impaired fetal development, with many reports indicating tobacco-associated morbidity and perinatal mortality. In our study, an experimental rat model of diabetes and cigarette smoke exposure in pregnant rats was used to determine the impact of the combination of diabetes and exposure to cigarette smoke during pregnancy on maternal oxidative stress biomarkers and placental and fetal development. Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin, and dams were exposed to cigarette smoke by mainstream smoke generated by a mechanical smoking device and delivered into a chamber. Four groups of dams were studied: nondiabetic (C, control) and diabetic (D) exposed to filtered air and nondiabetic (CS) and diabetic (DS) exposed to cigarette smoke prior to and during pregnancy. Maternal oxidative stress biomarkers, placental morphology, and fetal growth were determined close to term. The combination of diabetes and cigarette smoke resulted in elevated maternal blood glucose levels and increased number of small fetuses. Placentas from the DS group showed increased junctional zone and decreased labyrinthine area. The morphological alterations were characterized by extensive vascular congestion, thickness, and hyalinization of the vascular walls, numerous decidual cells with abundant glycogen, and macrophages with cytoplasmic inclusions of hemosiderin. Additionally, they showed increased glycogen accumulation and junctional zone structural derangement with ectopic giant cells. No alterations were observed in maternal oxidative stress status. Thus, our result suggests that diabetes makes pregnant rats more susceptible to the adverse effects of exposure to cigarette smoke on placental morphometry and fetal growth.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tam M T Nguyen ◽  
Sarah E Steane ◽  
Karen M Moritz ◽  
Lisa K Akison

AbstractAlcohol consumption is highly prevalent amongst women of reproductive age. Given that approximately 50% of pregnancies are unplanned, alcohol has the potential to affect fetal development and program chronic disease in offspring. We examined the effect of an acute but moderate prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) on glucose metabolism, lipid levels and dietary preference in adolescent and/or adult rat offspring. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats received an oral gavage of ethanol (1g/kg maternal body weight, n=9 dams) or an equivalent volume of saline (control, n=8 dams) at embryonic days 13.5 and 14.5. PAE resulted in a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05-0.06% 1h post-gavage in dams. Fasting blood glucose concentration was not affected by PAE in offspring at any age, nor were blood glucose levels during a glucose tolerance test (GTT) in 6-month old offspring (P>0.5). However, there was evidence of insulin resistance in PAE male offspring at 6 months of age, with significantly elevated fasting plasma insulin (P= 0.001), a tendency for increased first phase insulin secretion during the GTT and impaired glucose clearance following an insulin challenge (P= 0.007). This was accompanied by modest alterations in protein kinase B (AKT) signalling in adipose tissue. PAE also resulted in reduced calorie consumption by offspring compared to controls (P= 0.04). These data suggest that a relatively low-level, acute PAE programs metabolic dysfunction in offspring in a sex-specific manner. These results highlight that alcohol consumption during pregnancy has the potential to affect the long-term health of offspring.Key points summaryPrenatal alcohol exposure has the potential to affect fetal development and program chronic disease in offspring.Previous preclinical models typically use high, chronic doses of alcohol throughout pregnancy to examine effects on offspring, particularly on the brain and behaviour.In this study we use a rat model of moderate, acute, prenatal alcohol exposure to determine if this can be detrimental to maintenance of glucose homeostasis in adolescent and adult offspring.Although female offspring were relatively unaffected, there was evidence of insulin resistance in 6-month old male offspring exposed to prenatal alcohol, suggestive of a pre-diabetic state.This result suggests that even a relatively low-dose, acute exposure to alcohol during pregnancy can still program metabolic dysfunction in a sex-specific manner.


2017 ◽  
Vol 232 (2) ◽  
pp. R83-R97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Bernal

The physiological and developmental effects of thyroid hormones are mainly due to the control of gene expression after interaction of T3 with the nuclear receptors. To understand the role of thyroid hormones on cerebral cortex development, knowledge of the genes regulated by T3 during specific stages of development is required. In our laboratory, we previously identified genes regulated by T3 in primary cerebrocortical cells in culture. By comparing these data with transcriptomics of purified cell types from the developing cortex, the cellular targets of T3 can be identified. In addition, many of the genes regulated transcriptionally by T3 have defined roles in cortex development, from which the role of T3 can be derived. This review analyzes the specific roles of T3-regulated genes in the different stages of cortex development within the physiological frame of the developmental changes of thyroid hormones and receptor concentrations in the human cerebral cortex during fetal development. These data indicate an increase in the sensitivity to T3 during the second trimester of fetal development. The main cellular targets of T3 appear to be the Cajal-Retzius and the subplate neurons. On the other hand, T3 regulates transcriptionally genes encoding extracellular matrix proteins, involved in cell migration and the control of diverse signaling pathways.


2006 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. S128.3-S128
Author(s):  
H. Zhao ◽  
R. J. Wong ◽  
I. Morioka ◽  
F. A. Kalish ◽  
D. K. Stevenson

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikhail Pomaznoy ◽  
Ashu Sethi ◽  
Jason Greenbaum ◽  
Bjoern Peters

Abstract RNA-seq methods are widely utilized for transcriptomic profiling of biological samples. However, there are known caveats of this technology which can skew the gene expression estimates. Specifically, if the library preparation protocol does not retain RNA strand information then some genes can be erroneously quantitated. Although strand-specific protocols have been established, a significant portion of RNA-seq data is generated in non-strand-specific manner. We used a comprehensive stranded RNA-seq dataset of 15 blood cell types to identify genes for which expression would be erroneously estimated if strand information was not available. We found that about 10% of all genes and 2.5% of protein coding genes have a two-fold or higher difference in estimated expression when strand information of the reads was ignored. We used parameters of read alignments of these genes to construct a machine learning model that can identify which genes in an unstranded dataset might have incorrect expression estimates and which ones do not. We also show that differential expression analysis of genes with biased expression estimates in unstranded read data can be recovered by limiting the reads considered to those which span exonic boundaries. The resulting approach is implemented as a package available at https://github.com/mikpom/uslcount.


2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
M. B. Morris ◽  
N. Hamra ◽  
A. C. Lonic ◽  
F. Felquer

The phenotypic status of embryonic stem (ES) cells is controlled in part by signalling pathways which translate inputs mediated by extracellular molecules. An important extracellular protagonist in mouse ES cells is LIF (leukaemia inhibitory factor) which interacts with the gp130–LIFR receptor complex to activate a number of downstream signalling pathways, including the STAT3, MEK/ERK and PI3K/Akt. These pathways, together with others, interact in complex and sometimes competing ways to generate the well-known characteristics of mouse ES cells of self-renewal, high rates of proliferation, and pluripotence. The addition of a second molecule, L-proline, to the extracellular environment alters the pluripotent status of mouse ES cells, converting them to a second pluripotent population equivalent to the primitive ectoderm of the pre-gastrulating embryo. This conversion, from ES cells to primitive ectoderm-like cells, primes the latter for directed differentiation to specific cell types (1). Here we show, using inhibitor studies and kinome array analysis, that this small molecule appears to work by (i) changing the balance in activity of signalling pathways already stimulated by LIF and (ii) activating additional signalling pathways. Specifically, L-proline rapidly further activates the LIF-stimulated MEK/ERK pathway, tipping the balance in favour of primitive-ectoderm formation and away from ES-cell self-renewal sustained by LIF-mediated activation of the STAT3 pathway. In addition, L-proline rapidly stimulates other pathways including p38, mTOR and PI3K/Akt each of which contributes, to a greater or lesser extent, to the conversion to primitive ectoderm-like cells. These results indicate that (i) L-proline acts in novel ways to stimulate embryo-like developmental progression in ES cells and (ii) through the addition of small, nontoxic activators and inhibitors of signalling pathways, the differentiation of pluripotent ES cells might be controlled sufficiently well for the homogeneous production of specific cell types suitable for use in animal models of human disease.


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