Roles of tetraspanins during trophoblast development: bioinformatics and new perspectives.

Tetraspanins are a superfamily of membrane proteins found in all eukaryotic organisms. They act as scaffold molecules that regulate the traffic and function of other membrane/signaling proteins, resulting in important downstream cellular consequences. The aim of this work was to use transcriptomes and bioinformatics analysis to identify the tetraspanins (and their partners) involved in trophoblast differentiation. We built a protein-protein interaction network around tetraspanins which revealed that tetraspanins CD9, CD81, and CD82 show a specific expression during trophoblast differentiation. These proteins appeared to be interconnected and to recruit several membrane partners which include integrins, immune-related molecules, and a variety of receptors. During weeks 8 to 24, a CD9 expression trajectory was identified in extravillous trophoblasts, and a website was developed: ( https://extravillous.shinyapps.io/CD9humanEVT/ ). In conclusion, CD81 may, together with CD9 and CD82, be interconnected in controlling trophoblast invasion in the endometrium. CD9 expression trajectory in extravillous trophoblast between weeks 8 and 24 shows the involvement of CD9 in cell adhesion and migration.

IL-15 Prevents Renal Fibrosis by Inhibiting Collagen Synthesis: A New Pathway in Chronic Kidney Disease?

Chronic kidney disease (CKD), secondary to renal fibrogenesis, is a public health burden. The activation of interstitial myofibroblasts and excessive production of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins are major events leading to end-stage kidney disease. Recently, interleukin-15 (IL-15) has been implicated in fibrosis protection in several organs, with little evidence in the kidney. Since endogenous IL-15 expression decreased in nephrectomized human allografts evolving toward fibrosis and kidneys in the unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) model, we explored IL-15's renoprotective role by pharmologically delivering IL-15 coupled or not with its soluble receptor IL-15Rα. Despite the lack of effects on myofibroblast accumulation, both IL-15 treatments prevented tubulointerstitial fibrosis (TIF) in UUO as characterized by reduced collagen and fibronectin deposition. Moreover, IL-15 treatments inhibited collagen and fibronectin secretion by transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß)-treated primary myofibroblast cultures, demonstrating that the antifibrotic effect of IL-15 in UUO acts, in part, through a direct inhibition of ECM synthesis by myofibroblasts. In addition, IL-15 treatments resulted in decreased expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) and subsequent macrophage infiltration in UUO. Taken together, our study highlights a major role of IL-15 on myofibroblasts and macrophages, two main effector cells in renal fibrosis, demonstrating that IL-15 may represent a new therapeutic option for CKD.

Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome and serum permeability factors: a molecular jigsaw puzzle.

Nephrotic syndrome is traditionally defined using the triad of edema, hypoalbuminemia, and proteinuria, but this syndrome is very heterogeneous and difficult to clarify. Its idiopathic form (INS) is probably the most harmful and essentially comprises two entities: minimal change disease (MCD) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). We will consider some hypotheses regarding the mechanisms underlying INS: (i) the presence of several glomerular permeability factors in the sera of patients that alter the morphology and function of podocytes leading to proteinuria, (ii) the putative role of immune cells. Thanks to recent data, our understanding of these disorders is evolving towards a more multifactorial origin. In this context, circulating factors may be associated according to sequential kinetic mechanisms or micro-environmental changes that need to be determined. In addition, the resulting proteinuria may trigger more proteinuria enhancing the glomerular destabilization.

VE-cadherin expression allows identification of a new class of hematopoietic stem cells within human embryonic liver.

Edification of the human hematopoietic system during development is characterized by the production of waves of hematopoietic cells separated in time, formed in distinct embryonic sites (ie, yolk sac, truncal arteries including the aorta, and placenta). The embryonic liver is a major hematopoietic organ wherein hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) expand, and the future, adult-type, hematopoietic cell hierarchy becomes established. We report herein the identification of a new, transient, and rare cell population in the human embryonic liver, which coexpresses VE-cadherin, an endothelial marker, CD45, a pan-hematopoietic marker, and CD34, a common endothelial and hematopoietic marker. This population displays an outstanding self-renewal, proliferation, and differentiation potential, as detected by in vitro and in vivo hematopoietic assays compared with its VE-cadherin negative counterpart. Based on VE-cadherin expression, our data demonstrate the existence of 2 phenotypically and functionally separable populations of multipotent HSCs in the human embryo, the VE-cadherin(+) one being more primitive than the VE-cadherin(-) one, and shed a new light on the hierarchical organization of the embryonic liver HSC compartment.

[Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome: une Arlésienne?] / Syndrome néphrotique idiopathique et facteurs circulants - Une Arlésienne ?

The renal filtration is ensured by the kidney glomeruli selective for filtering the blood. The main actor of the glomerular filter is the podocyte whose interlaced pedicels bear protein complexes (nephrin, podocin, etc.) creating a molecular sieve (slit diaphragm) to achieve the filtration. Alterations of these podocytes lead to massive proteinuria, which characterizes the nephrotic syndrome. The idiopathic form is one of the most malignant and essentially comprises two entities: minimal change disease and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Many observations indicated that (1) immune cells are involved and that (2) there are several permeability factors in the blood that affect the morphology and function of podocytes (slit diaphragm with fractional foot processes fusion/effacement). Evidence for a permeability factor was chiefly derived from remission of proteinuria observed after implantation of a kidney with FSGS in healthy recipients or with other kidney diseases. Today, we are moving towards a multifactorial conception of the nephrotic syndrome where all these barely known factors could be associated according to a sequential kinetic mechanism that needs to be determined.

TITLE: Syndrome néphrotique idiopathique et facteurs circulants - Une Arlésienne ? ABSTRACT: La fonction d'excrétion du rein fait intervenir des glomérules chargés de filtrer sélectivement le sang. L'acteur principal du filtre glomérulaire est le podocyte dont les pédicelles entrelacés portent des complexes moléculaires (néphrine, podocine, etc.) qui sont responsables du fonctionnement de la barrière de filtration (diaphragme de fente). Des altérations de ces podocytes entraînent une protéinurie massive qui caractérise le syndrome néphrotique. Parmi les formes les plus malignes de cette pathologie, se trouve le syndrome néphrotique idiopathique dont la physiopathologie reste inconnue. Ce syndrome regroupe essentiellement deux entités : les lésions glomérulaires minimes et la hyalinose segmentaire et focale. Ces pathologies impliqueraient les cellules du système immunitaire et plusieurs facteurs de perméabilité circulants qui agiraient sur la morphologie et le fonctionnement des podocytes.

Circulating CASK is associated with recurrent focal segmental glomerulosclerosis after transplantation.

INTRODUCTION: Focal and Segmental GlomeruloSclerosis (FSGS) can cause nephrotic syndrome with a risk of progression to end-stage renal disease. The idiopathic form has a high rate of recurrence after transplantation, suggesting the presence of a systemic circulating factor that causes glomerular permeability and can be removed by plasmapheresis or protein-A immunoadsorption. RESULTS: To identify this circulating factor, the eluate proteins bound on therapeutic immunoadsorption with protein-A columns were analyzed by comparative electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. A soluble form of calcium/calmodulin-dependent serine protein kinase (CASK) was identified. CASK was immunoprecipitated only in the sera of patients with recurrent FSGS after transplantation and not in control patients. Recombinant-CASK (rCASK) induced the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton in immortalized podocytes, a redistribution of synaptopodin, ZO-1,vinculin and ENA. rCASK also induced alterations in the permeability of a monolayer of podocytes and increased the motility of pdodocytes in vitro. The extracellular domain of CD98, a transmembrane receptor expressed on renal epithelial cells, has been found to co-immunoprecipitated with rCASK. The invalidation of CD98 with siRNA avoided the structural changes of rCask treated cells suggesting its involvement in physiopathology of the disease. In mice, recombinant CASK induced proteinuria and foot process effacement in podocytes. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that CASK can induce the recurrence of FSGS after renal transplantation.

A bioinformatics transcriptome meta-analysis highlights the importance of trophoblast differentiation in the pathology of hydatidiform moles.

INTRODUCTION: Hydatidiform mole (HM) is an aberrant human pregnancy with abnormal trophoblastic development, migration/invasion of the extravillous trophoblast in the decidua. These abnormalities are established in a hypoxic environment during the first trimester of gestation. METHODS: Using text mining, we identified 72 unique genes that are linked to HM (HM-linked genes) that we studied by bioinformatic analysis in publicly available transcriptomes of primary chorionic villous cells (cytotrophoblast, syncytiotrophoblast, extravillous trophoblast, and arterial and venous endothelial) isolated from normal placentas or established trophoblastic cell lines cultured under different oxygen concentrations. RESULTS: We show that the majority of HM-linked genes (75%) are involved in normal trophoblastic differentiation, arranged in clusters, and some of them are implicated in chorionic villous invasion or regulated by oxygen concentrations. DISCUSSION: Our analysis integrates the various aspects of the pathophysiology of HM and highlights the importance of trophoblastic differentiation in this pathology.

The hydatidiform mole.

The hydatidiform mole (HM) is a placental pathology of androgenetic origin. Placental villi have an abnormal hyperproliferation event and hydropic degeneration. Three situations can be envisaged at its origin: 1. The destruction/expulsion of the female pronucleus at the time of fertilization by 1 or 2 spermatozoa with the former being followed by an endoreplication of the male pronucleus leading to a complete hydatidiform mole (CHM) 2. A triploid zygote (fertilization by 2 spermatozoa) leading to a partial hydatidiform mole (PHM) but can also lead to haploid and diploid clones. The diploid clone may produce a normal fetus while the haploid clone after endoreplication generates a CHM 3. A nutritional defect during the differentiation of the oocytes or the deterioration of the limited oxygen pressure during the first trimester of gestation may lead to the formation of a HM. In countries with poor medical health care system, moles (mainly the CHM) can become invasive or, in rare cases, lead to gestational choriocarcinomas.

[Complete hydatidiform mole]. / La môle hydatiforme complète.

"The battle of the sexes begins in the zygote" W. Reik and J. Walter. Complete hydatidiform mole (CHM) is a pathology of the placenta with androgenetic diploid origin (chromosomes only from paternal origin). Placental villi present an abnormal hyperproliferation and hydropic degeneration associated with the absence of embryo. Three mechanisms can be envisaged at its origin: (1) destruction/expulsion of the female pronucleus at the time of fertilization by one or two spermatozoa, the former being followed by an endoreplication of the male pronucleus (homozygous mole), (2) a triploid zygote (fertilization by two spermatozoa) leading to a haploid and a diploid clones. The diploid clone may produce a normal fetus while the haploid clone, after endoreplication, generates a complete hydatidiform mole, (3) a nutritional defect during the differentiation of the oocytes of the female embryo that will affect the integrity and maturity of her oocytes during her adult life and lead to hydatidiform mole. In countries with a poor medical health care system, moles can be invasive or, in rare cases, lead to gestational choriocarcinomas.

PRINS, the other in situ DNA labeling method useful in cellular biology.

PRINS has proven to be an attractive alternative to FISH for in situ DNA labeling. PRINS is specific, simple, and rapid. We review some applications of PRINS involving primers specific for telomeric, human Alu, and centromeric alpha-satellite sequences. Bicolor labeling, PRINS-FISH, or PRINS-immunofluorescent combinations have been developed to enable investigations in numerous applications.

Altered p16 and Bcl-2 expression reflects pathologic development in hydatidiform moles and choriocarcinoma.

Abnormal trophoblast differentiation is the main cause of gestational trophoblast diseases in the case of hydatidiform moles and choriocarcinomas. Here we investigated the expression patterns of two gene products, p16 and Bcl-2, implicated in cell cycle regulation and apoptosis, respectively, using immunohistochemistry during normal placenta differentiation, hydatidiform moles (partial, complete and invasive) and post-molar choriocarcinomas. The p16 protein shows a gradual expression in cytotrophoblast of normal villous, from a p16 weak proliferative phenotype to a p16 strong invasive phenotype reaching a maximum around 17 weeks of gestation. The expression pattern in cytotrophoblast was similar in moles in contrast to the villous mesenchyme of invasive moles where p16 was strongly expressed. Bcl-2 expression was syncytiotrophoblast specific in normal placenta and moles and increased gradually during normal differentiation. The results explain the persistence of normal and molar villous fragments during their development and their dramatic invasion in the uterine arteries in case of invasive moles. In choriocarcinomas the weak Bcl-2 expression is associated with weak p16 expression indicating a great apoptotic and proliferative potentials. The results suggest that strong p16 expression in the villous mesenchyme may be responsible in part of the morbidity of the moles, and the key of cancer progression in the choriocarcinomas would be a fast cell-cycle turnover.

Differential expression of E-cadherin, ß-catenin, and Lewis x between invasive hydatidiform moles and post-molar choriocarcinomas.

Trophoblast cell adhesion and migration are carefully coordinated during normal placental development. We have compared the expression of three adhesion molecules, E-cadherin, ß-catenin, and Lewis x, by immunohistochemistry during normal trophoblast differentiation, and in hydatidiform moles and choriocarcinomas. Both E-cadherin and ß-catenin were expressed in normal placenta cytotrophoblast, and this expression decreased with trophoblast maturation. E-cadherin was mainly localized along the contact between cytotrophoblast and syncytiotrophoblast, which indicates its role in the differentiation of the syncytial layer. Lewis x disappeared progressively during differentiation of normal villous vessels, and was expressed in molar pregnancies. Interestingly, whereas choriocarcinomas were not, or poorly, stained, invasive hydatidiform moles (invHMs) strongly expressed Lewis x in vascular structures. This observation correlated well with E-cadherin and ß-catenin expression and suggests that these three markers are associated with the invasive transformation. The presence of robust endothelial structures in invHMs could also explain their ability to maintain organized villous architecture (contrary to metastatic choriocarcinomas) during their invasion of extrauterine tissues such as the lung or the brain after dissemination through the blood flow. In our hands, Lewis x appeared to be a new, reliable marker that can be used to clearly distinguish invHMs from choriocarcinomas.

Genome-wide high-resolution aCGH analysis of gestational choriocarcinomas.

Eleven samples of DNA from choriocarcinomas were studied by high resolution CGH-array 244 K. They were studied after histopathological confirmation of the diagnosis, of the androgenic etiology and after a microsatellite marker analysis confirming the absence of contamination of tumor DNA from maternal DNA. Three cell lines, BeWo, JAR, JEG were also studied by this high resolution pangenomic technique. According to aCGH analysis, the de novo choriocarcinomas exhibited simple chromosomal rearrangements or normal profiles. The cell lines showed various and complex chromosomal aberrations. 23 Minimal Critical Regions were defined that allowed us to list the genes that were potentially implicated. Among them, unusually high numbers of microRNA clusters and imprinted genes were observed.

[Cytogenomic studies of hydatiform moles and gestational choriocarcinoma]. / Étude cytogénomique de la môle hydatiforme et du choriocarcinome gestationnel.

The complete hydatidiform mole (CHM), a gestational trophoblastic disease, is usually caused by the development of an androgenic egg whose genome is exclusively paternal. Due to parental imprinting, only trophoblasts develop in the absence of a fetus. CHM are diploid and no abnormal karyotype is observed. It is 46,XX in most cases and less frequently 46,XY. The major complication of this disease is gestational choriocarcinoma, a metastasizing tumor and a true allografted malignancy. This complication is infrequent in developed countries, but is more common in the developing countries and is then worsened by delayed care. The malignancies are often accompanied by acquired, possibly etiological genomic abnormalities. We investigated the presence of recurrent cytogenetic abnormalities in CHM and post-molar choriocarcinoma using metaphasic CGH (mCGH) and high-resolution 244K aCGH techniques. The 10 CHM studied by mCGH showed no chromosomal gains or losses. For post-molar choriocarcinoma, 11 tumors, whose diagnosis was verified by histopathology, were investigated by aCGH. Their androgenic nature and the absence of tumor DNA contamination by maternal DNA were verified by the analysis of microsatellite markers. Three choriocarcinoma cell lines (BeWo, JAR and JEG) were also analyzed by aCGH. The results allowed us to observe some chromosomal rearrangements in primary tumors, and more in the cell lines. Chromosomal abnormalities were confirmed by FISH and functional effect by immunohistochemical analysis of gene expression. Forty minimum critical regions (MCR) were defined on chromosomes. Candidate genes implicated in choriocarcinoma oncogenesis were selected. The presence in the MCR of many miRNA clusters whose expression is modulated by parental imprinting has been observed, for example in 14q32 or in 19q13.4. This suggests that, in gestational choriocarcinoma, the consequences of gene abnormalities directly linked to acquired chromosomal abnormalities are superimposed upon those of imprinted genes altered at fertilization.

Activity, splice variants, conserved peptide motifs, and phylogeny of two new alpha1,3-fucosyltransferase families (FUT10 and FUT11).

We report the cloning of three splice variants of the FUT10 gene, encoding for active alpha-l-fucosyltransferase-isoforms of 391, 419, and 479 amino acids, and two splice variants of the FUT11 gene, encoding for two related alpha-l-fucosyltransferases of 476 and 492 amino acids. The FUT10 and FUT11 appeared 830 million years ago, whereas the other alpha1,3-fucosyltransferases emerged 450 million years ago. FUT10-391 and FUT10-419 were expressed in human embryos, whereas FUT10-479 was cloned from adult brain and was not found in embryos. Recombinant FUT10-419 and FUT10-479 have a type II trans-membrane topology and are retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by a membrane retention signal at their NH(2) termini. The FUT10-479 has, in addition, a COOH-ER membrane retention signal. The FUT10-391 is a soluble protein without a trans-membrane domain or ER retention signal that transiently localizes to the Golgi and then is routed to the lysosome. After transfection in COS7 cells, the three FUT10s and at least one FUT11, link alpha-l-fucose onto conalbumin glycopeptides and biantennary N-glycan acceptors but not onto short lactosaminyl acceptor substrates as do classical monoexonic alpha1,3-fucosyltransferases. Modifications of the innermost core GlcNAc of the N-glycan, by substitution with ManNAc or with an opened GlcNAc ring or by the addition of an alpha1,6-fucose, suggest that the FUT10 transfer is performed on the innermost GlcNAc of the core chitobiose. We can exclude alpha1,3-fucosylation of the two peripheral GlcNAcs linked to the trimannosyl core of the acceptor, because the FUT10 fucosylated biantennary N-glycan product loses both terminal GlcNAc residues after digestion with human placenta alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase.

Genetic complementation reveals a novel human congenital disorder of glycosylation of type II, due to inactivation of the Golgi CMP-sialic acid transporter.

We have identified a homozygous G>A substitution in the donor splice site of intron 6 (IVS6 + 1G>A) of the cytidine monophosphate (CMP)-sialic acid transporter gene of Lec2 cells as the mutation responsible for their asialo phenotype. These cells were used in complementation studies to test the activity of the 2 CMP-sialic acid transporter cDNA alleles of a patient devoid of sialyl-Le(x) expression on polymorphonuclear cells. No complementation was obtained with either of the 2 patient alleles, whereas full restoration of the sialylated phenotype was obtained in the Lec2 cells transfected with the corresponding human wild-type transcript. The inactivation of one patient allele by a double microdeletion inducing a premature stop codon at position 327 and a splice mutation of the other allele inducing a 130-base pair (bp) deletion and a premature stop codon at position 684 are proposed to be the causal defects of this disease. A 4-base insertion in intron 6 was found in the mother and is proposed to be responsible for the splice mutation. We conclude that this defect is a new type of congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG) of type IIf affecting the transport of CMP-sialic acid into the Golgi apparatus.

A new superfamily of protein-O-fucosyltransferases, alpha2-fucosyltransferases, and alpha6-fucosyltransferases: phylogeny and identification of conserved peptide motifs.

The presence of three conserved peptide motifs shared by alpha2-fucosyltransferases, alpha6-fucosyltransferases, the protein-O-fucosyltransferase family 1 (POFUT1) and a newly identified protein-O-fucosyltransferase family 2 (POFUT2), together with evidence that the present genes encoding for these enzymes have originated from a common ancestor by duplication and divergent evolution, suggests that they constitute a new superfamily of fucosyltransferases.

Activity and tissue distribution of splice variants of alpha6-fucosyltransferase in human embryogenesis.

The product of the FUT8 gene transfers an alpha1-6 fucose on the innermost N-acetylglucosamine of the chitobiose core of N-glycans. Northern blot analysis shows four main transcripts of 3.0, 3.3, 3.9, and 4.2 kb in the embryo. The larger forms around 4-kb decrease in fetus and adult. Fourteen embryo transcripts of FUT8 were cloned. Twelve exons comprising two new 5'untranslated-exons (A and B) and two new 3'UT-ends (L1 and L2) and the complete genomic organization of the FUT8 gene (330 kb) are described. Transcripts starting with the 5'UT-exon A are always associated with exons C and D. Exon B initiates another series of transcripts associated to exon C and D or directly to exon D. A third series of transcripts starts at exon C. The data suggest an expression of FUT8 regulated by three different promoters, starting transcription in exons A, B, or C. The A or C series are better expressed than the B series. After transfection with these cDNA constructs the transcripts with 5'UT-exons A or C have higher expression of FUT8 transcripts and higher alpha6-fucosyltransferase activity, whereas the activity of the B series is about two-thirds lower for both parameters, suggesting that exon B reduces the expression of the transcripts.