Fetal and trophoblast PI3K p110α have distinct roles in regulating resource supply to the growing fetus in mice

Studies suggest that placental nutrient supply adapts according to fetal demands. However, signaling events underlying placental adaptations remain unknown. Here we demonstrate that phosphoinositide 3-kinase p110α in the fetus and the trophoblast interplay to regulate placental nutrient supply and fetal growth. Complete loss of fetal p110α caused embryonic death, whilst heterozygous loss resulted in fetal growth restriction and impaired placental formation and nutrient transport. Loss of trophoblast p110α resulted in viable fetuses, abnormal placental development and a failure of the placenta to transport sufficient nutrients to match fetal demands for growth. Using RNA-seq we identified genes downstream of p110α in the trophoblast that are important in adapting placental phenotype. Using CRISPR/Cas9 we showed loss of p110α differentially affects gene expression in trophoblast and embryonic stem cells. Our findings reveal important, but distinct roles for p110α in the different compartments of the conceptus, which control fetal resource acquisition and growth.

Download Full-text

Fetal and trophoblast PI3Kp110α have distinct roles in regulating resource supply to the growing fetus

10.1101/473967 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Jorge Lopez-Tello ◽

Vicente Perez-Garcia ◽

Jaspreet Khaira ◽

Laura C. Kusinski ◽

Wendy N. Cooper ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fetal Growth ◽

Embryonic Stem ◽

Prenatal Development ◽

Complete Loss ◽

Placental Development ◽

Expression Of Genes ◽

Transport Loss ◽

Healthy Growth ◽

Phosphoinositide 3 Kinase

AbstractPrevious studies suggest that the placental supply of nutrients to the fetus adapts according to fetal demand. However, the signaling events underlying placental adaptations remain largely unknown. Earlier work in mice has revealed that loss of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase p110α impairs feto-placental growth but placental nutrient supply is adaptively increased. Here we explore the role of p110α in the epiblast-derived (fetal) and trophoblast lineages of the conceptus in relation to feto-placental growth and placental development and transfer function. Using conditional gene manipulations to knock-down p110α either by ∼50% or ∼100% in the fetal lineages and/or trophoblast, this study shows that p110α in the fetus is essential for prenatal development and a major regulator of placental phenotype in mice. Complete loss of fetal p110α caused embryonic death, whilst heterozygous loss resulted in fetal growth restriction and impaired placental formation and nutrient transport. Loss of trophoblast p110α also resulted in abnormal placental development, although fetuses were viable. However, in response to complete loss of trophoblast p110α, the placenta failed to transport sufficient amino acid to match fetal demands for growth. Using RNA-seq, we identified several genes downstream of p110α in the trophoblast that are important in adapting placental phenotype to support fetal growth. Further work using CRISPR/Cas9 genome targeting showed that loss of p110α differentially affects the expression of genes in trophoblast and embryonic stem cells. Our findings thus reveal important, but distinct roles for p110α signaling in the different compartments of the conceptus, which control fetal resource acquisition and ultimately affect healthy growth.One Sentence SummaryFetal and trophoblast p110α modify resource allocation

Download Full-text

Development of Structures and Transport Functions in the Mouse Placenta

Physiology ◽

10.1152/physiol.00001.2005 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 180-193 ◽

Cited By ~ 302

Author(s):

Erica D. Watson ◽

James C. Cross

Keyword(s):

Fetal Growth ◽

Fetal Growth Restriction ◽

Cell Biology ◽

Fetal Death ◽

Nutrient Transport ◽

Growth Restriction ◽

Molecular Pathways ◽

Placental Development ◽

Mouse Mutants ◽

Mouse Placenta

The placenta is essential for sustaining the growth of the fetus during gestation, and defects in its function result in fetal growth restriction or, if more severe, fetal death. Several molecular pathways have been identified that are essential for development of the placenta, and mouse mutants offer new insights into the cell biology of placental development and physiology of nutrient transport.

Download Full-text

The TGFβ Family in Human Placental Development at the Fetal-Maternal Interface

Biomolecules ◽

10.3390/biom10030453 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 453

Author(s):

Susana M. Chuva de Sousa Lopes ◽

Marta S. Alexdottir ◽

Gudrun Valdimarsdottir

Keyword(s):

Stem Cell ◽

Transforming Growth Factor Beta ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Transforming Growth Factor ◽

Cell Model ◽

Embryonic Stem ◽

Model Systems ◽

Special Focus ◽

Placental Development

Emerging data suggest that a trophoblast stem cell (TSC) population exists in the early human placenta. However, in vitro stem cell culture models are still in development and it remains under debate how well they reflect primary trophoblast (TB) cells. The absence of robust protocols to generate TSCs from humans has resulted in limited knowledge of the molecular mechanisms that regulate human placental development and TB lineage specification when compared to other human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). As placentation in mouse and human differ considerably, it is only with the development of human-based disease models using TSCs that we will be able to understand the various diseases caused by abnormal placentation in humans, such as preeclampsia. In this review, we summarize the knowledge on normal human placental development, the placental disease preeclampsia, and current stem cell model systems used to mimic TB differentiation. A special focus is given to the transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) family as it has been shown that the TGFβ family has an important role in human placental development and disease.

Download Full-text

Identification of New Transcription Factors that Can Promote Pluripotent Reprogramming

Stem Cell Reviews and Reports ◽

10.1007/s12015-021-10220-z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ping Huang ◽

Jieying Zhu ◽

Yu Liu ◽

Guihuan Liu ◽

Ran Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Transcription Factors ◽

Embryonic Stem Cells ◽

Rna Sequencing ◽

Human Urine ◽

Embryonic Stem ◽

Rna Seq ◽

Reprogramming Efficiency ◽

Yamanaka Factors ◽

Urine Cells

Abstract Background Four transcription factors, Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc (the Yamanka factors), can reprogram somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Many studies have provided a number of alternative combinations to the non-Yamanaka factors. However, it is clear that many additional transcription factors that can generate iPSCs remain to be discovered. Methods The chromatin accessibility and transcriptional level of human embryonic stem cells and human urine cells were compared by Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin with high-throughput sequencing (ATAC-seq) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to identify potential reprogramming factors. Selected transcription factors were employed to reprogram urine cells, and the reprogramming efficiency was measured. Urine-derived iPSCs were detected for pluripotency by Immunofluorescence, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, RNA sequencing and teratoma formation test. Finally, we assessed the differentiation potential of the new iPSCs to cardiomyocytes in vitro. Results ATAC-seq and RNA-seq datasets predicted TEAD2, TEAD4 and ZIC3 as potential factors involved in urine cell reprogramming. Transfection of TEAD2, TEAD4 and ZIC3 (in the presence of Yamanaka factors) significantly improved the reprogramming efficiency of urine cells. We confirmed that the newly generated iPSCs possessed pluripotency characteristics similar to normal H1 embryonic stem cells. We also confirmed that the new iPSCs could differentiate to functional cardiomyocytes. Conclusions In conclusion, TEAD2, TEAD4 and ZIC3 can increase the efficiency of reprogramming human urine cells into iPSCs, and provides a new stem cell sources for the clinical application and modeling of cardiovascular disease. Graphical abstract

Download Full-text

Nicotinamide promotes pancreatic differentiation through the dual inhibition of CK1 and ROCK kinases in human embryonic stem cells

Stem Cell Research & Therapy ◽

10.1186/s13287-021-02426-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yumeng Zhang ◽

Jiaqi Xu ◽

Zhili Ren ◽

Ya Meng ◽

Weiwei Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Cell Fate ◽

Human Embryonic Stem Cells ◽

Embryonic Stem ◽

Cell Fate Determination ◽

Rna Seq ◽

Pancreatic Cell ◽

Pancreatic Progenitor ◽

Pancreatic Progenitors ◽

Rock Inhibition

Abstract Background Vitamin B3 (nicotinamide) plays important roles in metabolism as well as in SIRT and PARP pathways. It is also recently reported as a novel kinase inhibitor with multiple targets. Nicotinamide promotes pancreatic cell differentiation from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). However, its molecular mechanism is still unclear. In order to understand the molecular mechanism involved in pancreatic cell fate determination, we analyzed the downstream pathways of nicotinamide in the derivation of NKX6.1+ pancreatic progenitors from hESCs. Methods We applied downstream modulators of nicotinamide during the induction from posterior foregut to pancreatic progenitors, including niacin, PARP inhibitor, SIRT inhibitor, CK1 inhibitor and ROCK inhibitor. The impact of those treatments was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR, flow cytometry and immunostaining of pancreatic markers. Furthermore, CK1 isoforms were knocked down to validate CK1 function in the induction of pancreatic progenitors. Finally, RNA-seq was used to demonstrate pancreatic induction on the transcriptomic level. Results First, we demonstrated that nicotinamide promoted pancreatic progenitor differentiation in chemically defined conditions, but it did not act through either niacin-associated metabolism or the inhibition of PARP and SIRT pathways. In contrast, nicotinamide modulated differentiation through CK1 and ROCK inhibition. We demonstrated that CK1 inhibitors promoted the generation of PDX1/NKX6.1 double-positive pancreatic progenitor cells. shRNA knockdown revealed that the inhibition of CK1α and CK1ε promoted pancreatic progenitor differentiation. We then showed that nicotinamide also improved pancreatic progenitor differentiation through ROCK inhibition. Finally, RNA-seq data showed that CK1 and ROCK inhibition led to pancreatic gene expression, similar to nicotinamide treatment. Conclusions In this report, we revealed that nicotinamide promotes generation of pancreatic progenitors from hESCs through CK1 and ROCK inhibition. Furthermore, we discovered the novel role of CK1 in pancreatic cell fate determination.

Download Full-text

Pooled CRISPR-activation screening coupled with single-cell RNA-seq in mouse embryonic stem cells

STAR Protocols ◽

10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100426 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 100426

Author(s):

Celia Alda-Catalinas ◽

Melanie A. Eckersley-Maslin ◽

Wolf Reik

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Embryonic Stem Cells ◽

Single Cell ◽

Embryonic Stem ◽

Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells ◽

Rna Seq ◽

Crispr Activation

Download Full-text

Transcriptomic and ChIP-seq Integrative Analysis Reveals Important Roles of Epigenetically Regulated lncRNAs in Placental Development in Meishan Pigs

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes11040397 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 397

Author(s):

Dadong Deng ◽

Xihong Tan ◽

Kun Han ◽

Ruimin Ren ◽

Jianhua Cao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Differentially Expressed ◽

Rna Seq ◽

Sequencing Data ◽

Placental Development ◽

Cytoskeleton Organization ◽

New Class ◽

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Sequencing ◽

Non Coding Rnas ◽

Two Stages ◽

Regulatory Functions

The development of the placental fold, which increases the maternal–fetal interacting surface area, is of primary importance for the growth of the fetus throughout the whole pregnancy. However, the mechanisms involved remain to be fully elucidated. Increasing evidence has revealed that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a new class of RNAs with regulatory functions and could be epigenetically regulated by histone modifications. In this study, 141 lncRNAs (including 73 up-regulated and 68 down-regulated lncRNAs) were identified to be differentially expressed in the placentas of pigs during the establishment and expanding stages of placental fold development. The differentially expressed lncRNAs and genes (DElncRNA-DEgene) co-expression network analysis revealed that these differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) were mainly enriched in pathways of cell adhesion, cytoskeleton organization, epithelial cell differentiation and angiogenesis, indicating that the DElncRNAs are related to the major events that occur during placental fold development. In addition, we integrated the RNA-seq (RNA sequencing) data with the ChIP-seq (chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing) data of H3K4me3/H3K27ac produced from the placental samples of pigs from the two stages (gestational days 50 and 95). The analysis revealed that the changes in H3K4me3 and/or H3K27ac levels were significantly associated with the changes in the expression levels of 37 DElncRNAs. Furthermore, several H3K4me3/H3K27ac-lncRNAs were characterized to be significantly correlated with genes functionally related to placental development. Thus, this study provides new insights into understanding the mechanisms for the placental development of pigs.

Download Full-text

Diabetes and pre-eclampsia affecting pregnancy: a retrospective cross-sectional study

Journal of Investigative Medicine ◽

10.1136/jim-2017-000537 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 66 (4) ◽

pp. 728-732 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ram R Kalagiri ◽

Niraj Vora ◽

Jessica L Wilson ◽

Syeda H Afroze ◽

Venkata N Raju ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fetal Growth ◽

Fetal Growth Restriction ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Growth Restriction ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Placental Development ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Diabetes Status ◽

Elevated Glucose ◽

Post Hoc

The interaction between pre-eclampsia and diabetes mellitus (DM) is far from being completely understood. In this study, we compared normal pregnancies with those complicated with pre-eclampsia, gestational DM, and/or pre-existing diabetes to assess the effects of hyperglycemia on placental development. AnInstitutional Review Board (IRB) approved retrospective cross-sectional study with 621 subjects was performed. Statistical analysis was performed using Duncan’s post hoc test and analysis of variance. Regardless of diabetes status, patients with pre-eclampsia delivered prematurely. Patients in the group with pre-eclampsia and pregestational diabetes delivered much earlier, at 35.0±0.4 weeks, when compared with the patients that had pre-eclampsia with gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia with no diabetes (*P<0.05 for each). Additionally, patients with pre-existing diabetes who developed pre-eclampsia delivered smaller babies than those with pre-existing diabetes without pre-eclampsia (1.00±0.03, P<0.05 for each). Pre-existing diabetes with added insult of pre-eclampsia led to fetal growth restriction. This outcome validates the understanding that elevated glucose earlier in pregnancy alters placentogenesis and leads to fetal growth restriction.

Download Full-text