Megalin Is Predominantly Observed in Vesicular Structures in First and Third Trimester Cytotrophoblasts of the Human Placenta.

The membrane receptor megalin is crucial for normal fetal development. Besides its expression in the developing fetus, megalin is also expressed in the human placenta. Similar to its established function in the kidney proximal tubules, placental megalin has been proposed to mediate uptake of vital nutrients. However, details of megalin expression, subcellular localization, and function in the human placenta remain to be established. By immunohistochemical analyses of first trimester and term human placenta, we showed that megalin is predominantly expressed in cytotrophoblasts, the highly proliferative cells in placenta. Only limited amounts of megalin could be detected in syncytiotrophoblasts and least in term placenta syncytiotrophoblasts. Immunocytochemical analyses furthermore showed that placental megalin associates with structures of the endolysosomal apparatus. Combined, our results clearly place placental megalin in the context of endocytosis and trafficking of ligands. However, due to the limited expression of megalin in syncytiotrophoblasts, especially in term placenta, it appears that the main role for placental megalin is not to mediate uptake of nutrients from the maternal bloodstream, as previously proposed. In contrast, our results point toward novel and complex functions for megalin in the cytotrophoblasts. Thus, we propose that the perception of placental megalin localization and function should be revised.

The zinc finger RNA binding protein, ZFR, contributes to axon guidance in Caenorhabditis elegans.

ZFR is an ancient and highly conserved chromosome-associated protein from nematodes to mammals, embryologically expressed in most species, with the exception of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The ZFR encodes zinc and RNA binding protein, and in rat, the nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling ZFR has been found with transport and translation-associated RNA granule-like structures in the somatodendritic compartments of hippocampal neurons. The majority of axons cross the midline before projecting to their contralateral synaptic target and this crossing decision is under tight control. Molecular factors contributing to these processes have been identified, although the mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we tested the role of ceZFR in axon guidance using ceZfr RNAi-treated animals to analyse axon midline crossing, axon fasciculation and cord commissures. In adult stages, RNAi-induced depletion of the ceZfr transcript leads to several phenotypes related to axon guidance. A midline crossing defect was observed in the ventral nerve cord (VNC) in axon type D, DD/VD motoneuron axons and axon type 1, interneuron axons. We further detected a dorsal nerve cord (DNC) axon fasciculation. Some ceZfr RNAi-treated animals revealed that cord commissures fail to reach their synaptic target. We provide evidence that ceZFR has a role in axon guidance. When Zfr was depleted by RNAi, the phenotypes are characterized by defects in axon midline crossing, axon defasciculation and cord commissures. Our results thus support the hypothesis that ZFR has essential roles during neurogenesis, and could support early steps of RNA transport and localization through RNA granule formation in the nucleus and/or to their nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling.

Early developmental expression of Mus musculus zinc finger RNA-binding protein compared to orthologs in Caenorhabditis elegans and Danio rerio and subcellular localization of Mus musculus and Caenorhabditis elegans zinc finger RNA-binding protein in 2-cell Mus musculus embryos.

In mouse, knock-out of the Zfr gene encoding the zinc finger RNA-binding protein (ZFR) is associated with early lethality during gastrulation, suggesting that a pool of maternally contributed Zfr mRNA might compensate to allow development. ZFR is an ancient and highly conserved chromosome-associated protein from nematodes to mammals. We characterized expression of the Zfr transcript during early development in Mus musculus, Danio rerio, and Caenorhabditis elegans by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Mouse Zfr mRNA was detected in all stages tested during mouse preimplantation, with higher levels at the 1-cell stage that includes the maternal contribution of Zfr mRNA. In D. rerio, Zfr mRNA expression was highest in unfertilized eggs and declines throughout development. In C. elegans, Zfr mRNA expression was barely detectable in the fertilized egg and the L1 stage, but increased in the adult organism. Microinjections of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged versions of in vitro-transcribed mouse and C. elegans Zfr mRNAs into early mouse embryos allowed analysis of the intracellular localization of the protein. Mouse ZFR-GFP was localized in the nucleus in 2-cell stage embryos although absent from nucleoli. Deletion studies revealed that this nuclear localization required the C-terminal part of ZFR, as deletion of the C-terminal resulted in the localization to the nuclear membrane. Despite the lack of a conserved nuclear localization signal, the C. elegans ZFR-GFP fusion protein also displayed an intranuclear localization in the 2-cell mouse embryo.