Potential roles of the interactions between gut microbiota and metabolites in LPS-induced intrauterine inflammation (IUI) and associated preterm birth (PTB).

BACKGROUND: Prenatal exposure to intrauterine inflammation (IUI) is a crucial event in preterm birth (PTB) pathophysiology, increasing the incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders. Gut microbiota and metabolite profile alterations have been reported to be involved in PTB pathophysiology. METHOD AND RESULTS: In this study, IUI-exposed PTB mouse model was established and verified by PTB rate and other perinatal adverse reactions; LPS-indued IUI significantly increased the rates of PTB, apoptosis and inflammation in placenta tissue samples. LPS-induced IUI caused no significant differences in species richness and evenness but significantly altered the species abundance distribution. Non-targeted metabolomics analysis indicated that the metabolite profile of the preterm mice was altered, and differential metabolites were associated with signaling pathways including pyruvate metabolism. Furthermore, a significant positive correlation between Parasutterella excrementihominis and S4572761 (Nb-p-coumaroyltryptamine) and Mreference-1264 (pyruvic acid), respectively, was observed. Lastly, pyruvic acid treatment partially improved LPS-induced IUI phenotypes and decreased PTB rates and decreased the apoptosis and inflammation in placenta tissue samples. CONCLUSION: This study revealed an association among gut microbiota dysbiosis, metabolite profile alterations, and LPS-induced IUI and PTB in mice models. Our investigation revealed the possible involvement of gut microbiota in the pathophysiology of LPS-induced IUI and PTB, which might be mediated by metabolites such as pyruvic acid. Future studies should be conducted to verify the findings through larger sample-sized animal studies and clinical investigations.

Small extracellular vesicles-transported lncRNA TDRKH-AS1 derived from AOPPs-treated trophoblasts initiates endothelial cells pyroptosis through PDIA4/DDIT4 axis in preeclampsia.

BACKGROUND: Substantial studies have demonstrated that oxidative stress placenta and endothelial injury are considered to inextricably critical events in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia (PE). Systemic inflammatory response and endothelial dysfunction are induced by the circulating factors released from oxidative stress placentae. As a novel biomarker of oxidative stress, advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs) levels are strongly correlated with PE characteristics. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanism underlying the effect of factors is still largely unknown. METHODS: With the exponential knowledge on the importance of placenta-derived extracellular vesicles (pEVs), we carried out lncRNA transcriptome profiling on small EVs (sEVs) secreted from AOPPs-treated trophoblast cells and identified upregulated lncRNA TDRKH-AS1 as a potentially causative factor for PE. We isolated and characterized sEVs from plasma and trophoblast cells by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and western blotting. The expression and correlation of lncRNA TDRKH-AS1 were evaluated using qRT-PCR in plasmatic sEVs and placentae from patients. Pregnant mice injected with TDRKH-AS1-riched trophoblast sEVs was performed to detect the TDRKH-AS1 function in vivo. To investigate the potential effect of sEVs-derived TDRKH-AS1 on endothelial function in vitro, transcriptome sequencing, scanning electron Microscopy (SEM), immunofluorescence, ELISA and western blotting were conducted in HUVECs. RNA pulldown, mass spectrometry, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), chromatin isolation by RNA purification (ChIRP) and coimmunoprecipitation (Co-IP) were used to reveal the latent mechanism of TDRKH-AS1 on endothelial injury. RESULTS: The expression level of TDRKH-AS1 was significantly increased in plasmatic sEVs and placentae from patients, and elevated TDRKH-AS1 in plasmatic sEVs was positively correlated with clinical severity of the patients. Moreover, pregnant mice injected with TDRKH-AS1-riched trophoblast sEVs exhibited a hallmark feature of PE with increased blood pressure and systemic inflammatory responses. Pyroptosis, an inflammatory form of programmed cell death, is involved in the development of PE. Indeed, our in vitro study indicated that sEVs-derived TDRKH-AS1 secreted from AOPPs-induced trophoblast elevated DDIT4 expression levels to trigger inflammatory response of pyroptosis in endothelial cells through interacting with PDIA4. CONCLUSIONS: Herein, results in the present study supported that TDRKH-AS1 in sEVs isolated from oxidative stress trophoblast may be implicated in the pathogenesis of PE via inducing pyroptosis and aggravating endothelial dysfunction.

Pseudogene CLEC4GP1 modulates trophoblast cell apoptosis and invasion via IL-15 inhibition.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-associated complication accompanied by gestational hypertension and proteinuria, affecting 2-8% of pregnancies globally. The placental trophoblast cell invasion of decidua and myometrium during early gestation is crucial for healthy placentation. Thus, trophoblast dysfunction might contribute to PE onset. Therefore, further investigations are needed to elucidate the underlying mechanism of trophoblast cell functions. In the present study, we identified a novel pseudogene named C-Type Lectin Domain Family 4 Member G Pseudogene 1 (CLEC4GP1), which was aberrantly expressed in PE placental tissues. In vitro analyses showed that CLEC4GP1 overexpression significantly increased the cell viability and invasiveness and decreased the apoptosis rate of HTR-8/SVneo and JEG-3 cells, while CLEC4GP1 knockdown exerted opposite effects, suggesting the beneficial role of CLEC4GP1 in trophoblast cells. Next, co-expression analysis found that CLEC4GP1 was negatively correlated with Interleukin 15 (IL-15). The expression of IL-15 dramatically increased in PE placental tissues. In HTR-8/SVneo and JEG-3 cells, IL-15 exhibited detrimental effects, opposite to CLEC4GP1, and they were negatively correlated. In addition, CLEC4GP1 attenuates the mRNA stability of IL-16 by inhibiting the binding between human antigen R (HuR) protein and IL-15 RNA. Finally, the obverse effects of CLEC4GP1 and IL-15 were investigated, and results showed that IL-15 reverted CLEC4GP1 induced cellular functions. In brief, these data suggest that CLEC4GP1/IL-15 axis might modulate the occurrence and progression of PE via influencing the trophoblast cell viability, apoptosis, and invasive capability. This study provided cognizance of targeting the CLEC4GP1/IL-15 axis as a novel therapeutic approach to mitigate PE progression.

Non-invasive prenatal test findings in 41,819 pregnant women: results from a clinical laboratory in southern China.

BACKGROUND: This paper evaluated the clinical utility of massively parallel sequencing-based non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for detecting trisomy 21 (T21), T18, T13, sex chromosome aneuploidies (SCA), and rare chromosome aneuploidies (RCA) among the data collected by a clinical laboratory in southern China. METHODS: In a 3-year period between January 2017 and December 2019, over 40,000 pregnant women underwent NIPT clinical screening test for fetal T21, T18, T13, SCA, and RCA in our laboratory. NIPT samples were processed using the NextSeq CN500 platform. The positive results were confirmed by karyotyping, and chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) or copy number variants (CNV) sequencing. Details of the pregnancy outcomes were collected via telephone interview. RESULTS: NIPT results were available for 41,819 cases; 691 positive cases were reported. The overall sensitivity for detection of T21, T18, T13, SCA, and RCA was 99.21, 100.00, 100.00, 98.55, and 100.00%, and the specificity was 99.95, 99.94, 99.98, 99.69, and 99.92%, respectively. The positive predictive values (PPVs) for detection of T21, T18, T13, SCA, and RCA were 85.62, 45.24, 40.00, 34.17, and 13.51%, respectively, and those for detection of 45,X, 47,XXY, 47,XXX, 47,XYY, and 46,XY(delX) 20.00, 59.18, 28.95, 61.54, and 25.00%, respectively. Regarding pregnancy outcomes, 92.38% of the pregnancies with confirmed aneuploidies were terminated, and 91.20% of those identified as having a false-positive result were carried to term. Among 252 unconfirmed cases, 24.60% of the pregnancies were terminated and 38.10% carried to term, while 37.30% declined interview. CONCLUSIONS: NIPT is widely used to screen fetal aneuploidies based on its high sensitivity and specificity. However, in this study, the PPVs of NIPT in terms of detecting T18, T13, XO, XXX and RCA were < 50%. In addition, more than one-third of NIPT-positive women did not accept invasive prenatal diagnosis. Confirmatory diagnosis is strongly recommended for women with positive NIPT outcomes before any further decision is made.

Thrombospondin-1 Regulates Trophoblast Necroptosis via NEDD4-Mediated Ubiquitination of TAK1 in Preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia (PE) is considered as a disease of placental origin. However, the specific mechanism of placental abnormalities remains elusive. This study identified thrombospondin-1 (THBS1) is downregulated in preeclamptic placentae and negatively correlated with blood pressure. Functional studies show that THBS1 knockdown inhibits proliferation, migration, and invasion and increases the cycle arrest and apoptosis rate of HTR8/SVneo cells. Importantly, THBS1 silencing induces necroptosis in HTR8/SVneo cells, accompanied by the release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Necroptosis inhibitors necrostatin-1 and GSK'872 restore the trophoblast survival while pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK has no effect. Mechanistically, the results show that THBS1 interacts with transforming growth factor B-activated kinase 1 (TAK1), which is a central modulator of necroptosis quiescence and affects its stability. Moreover, THBS1 silencing up-regulates the expression of neuronal precursor cell-expressed developmentally down-regulated 4 (NEDD4), which acts as an E3 ligase of TAK1 and catalyzes K48-linked ubiquitination of TAK1 in HTR8/SVneo cells. Besides, THBS1 attenuates PE phenotypes and improves the placental necroptosis in vivo. Taken together, the down-regulation of THBS1 destabilizes TAK1 by activating NEDD4-mediated, K48-linked TAK1 ubiquitination and promotes necroptosis and DAMPs release in trophoblast cells, thus participating in the pathogenesis of PE.

Alterations and potential roles of microbial population of pregnant mouse saliva and amniotic fluid.

PROBLEM: Prenatal exposure to intrauterine inflammation (IUI) is a crucial event in PTB pathophysiology. However, the relationship between microflora and PTB is not fully elucidated. METHOD OF STUDY: In this study, we established an intrauterine inflammation mouse model via LPS intrauterine injection. The saliva and amniotic fluid were collected for 16s RNA gene sequencing. The levels of TNF-α and IL-1ß in mouse amniotic fluid were determined by ELISA assays. RESULTS: Up to 60% of the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in the saliva and amniotic fluid of PBS-treated mice were overlapped. LPS treatment-induced changes in the abundance of oral and amniotic fluid microorganisms. Both immune-associated probiotics, salivarius and mastitidis, were still detected in saliva (at significantly increased levels) after LPS-induced intrauterine inflammation and almost no probiotics of any type were detected in amniotic fluid, suggesting that the uterine cavity seems to be more susceptible to LPS compared to the oral cavity. Moreover, the abundance of pathogenic bacteria Escherichia coli was increased in both saliva and amniotic fluid after LPS treatment. The level of TNF-α and IL-1ß in amniotic fluid is positively related to the amniotic fluid E. coli abundance. CONCLUSIONS: The microbial composition of saliva and amniotic fluid of pregnant mice was similar. LPS-induced intrauterine inflammation decreased the consistency of microbial composition in mouse saliva and amniotic fluid, increased the abundance of E. coli in saliva and amniotic fluid, and decreased the abundance of immune-associated probiotics, especially in amniotic fluid.

Alteration of astrocytes and Wnt/ß-catenin signaling in the frontal cortex of autistic subjects.

BACKGROUND: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction, verbal communication and repetitive behaviors. To date the etiology of this disorder is poorly understood. Studies suggest that astrocytes play critical roles in neural plasticity by detecting neuronal activity and modulating neuronal networks. Recently, a number of studies suggested that an abnormal function of glia/astrocytes may be involved in the development of autism. However, there is yet no direct evidence showing how astrocytes develop in the brain of autistic individuals. METHODS: Study subjects include brain tissue from autistic subjects, BTBR T + tfJ (BTBR) and Neuroligin (NL)-3 knock-down mice. Western blot analysis, Immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy studies have be used to examine the density and morphology of astrocytes, as well as Wnt and ß-catenin protein expression. RESULTS: In this study, we demonstrate that the astrocytes in autisitcsubjects exhibit significantly reduced branching processes, total branching length and cell body sizes. We also detected an astrocytosis in the frontal cortex of autistic subjects. In addition, we found that the astrocytes in the brain of an NL3 knockdown mouse exhibited similar alterations to what we found in the autistic brain. Furthermore, we detected that both Wnt and ß-catenin proteins are decreased in the frontal cortex of autistic subjects. Wnt/ß-catenin pathway has been suggested to be involved in the regulation of astrocyte development. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings imply that defects in astrocytes could impair neuronal plasticity and partially contribute to the development of autistic-like behaviors in both humans and mice. The alteration of Wnt/ß-catenin pathway in the brain of autistic subjects may contribute to the changes of astrocytes.

Positive predictive value estimates for noninvasive prenatal testing from data of a prenatal diagnosis laboratory and literature review.

OBJECTIVE: Since 2011, noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) has undergone rapid expansion, with both utilization and coverage. However, conclusive data regarding the clinical validity and utility of this testing tool are lacking. Thus, there is a continued need to educate clinicians and patients about the current benefits and limitations in order to inform pre- and post-test counseling, pre/perinatal decision making, and medical risk assessment/management. METHODS: This retrospective study included women referred for invasive prenatal diagnosis to confirm positive NIPT results between January 2017 and December 2020. Prenatal diagnosis testing, including karyotyping, chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) were performed. Positive predictive values (PPVs) were calculated. RESULTS: In total, 468 women were recruited. The PPVs for trisomies 21, 18, and 13 were 86.1%, 57.8%, and 25.0%, respectively. The PPVs for rare chromosomal abnormalities (RCAs) and copy number variants (CNVs) were 17.0% and 40.4%, respectively. The detection of sex chromosomal aneuploidies (SCAs) had a PPV of 20% for monosomy X, 23.5% for 47,XXX, 68.8% for 47,XXY, and 62.5% for 47,XYY. The high-risk groups had a significant increase in the number of true positive cases compared to the low- and moderate-risk groups. CONCLUSIONS: T13, monosomy X, and RCA were associated with lower PPVs. The improvement of cell-free fetal DNA screening technology and continued monitoring of its performance are important.

MicroRNA-138 improves LPS-induced trophoblast dysfunction through targeting RELA and NF-κB signaling.

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication classified by new onset of elevated blood pressure and proteinuria after 20 weeks of gestation. During preeclampsia, extra villous trophoblasts fail to adequately invade the myometrial spiral arteries, leading to incomplete and impaired vessel transformation and initiating or aggravating preeclampsia. Although NF-κB and proinflammatory cytokines have been reported to be related to trophoblast dysfunction, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Herein, we demonstrated the miR-138/RELA axis modulating the migratory ability, and invasive ability of HTR-8/SVneo and JEG-3 cells, as well as the inflammatory factor levels in response to LPS stimulation. miR-138 expression was upregulated in preeclampsia placenta and LPS-stimulated HTR-8/SVneo and JEG-3 cell lines. miR-138 overexpression rescued the migratory and invasive ability of HTR-8/SVneo and JEG-3 cells inhibited by LPS stimulation, and decreased LPS-induced TNF-α and IL-6 levels. By binding the 3'-UTR of RELA, miR-138 negatively regulated p65 expression. The silencing of p65 also improved LPS-induced HTR-8/SVneo and JEG-3 cell dysfunction and TNF-α and IL-6 levels. More importantly, p65 overexpression partially reversed the functions of miR-138 overexpression upon both cells, indicating that miR-138 exerted its biological effects through targeting RELA. In conclusion, miR-138 improves LPS-induced inflammation and oxidative stress on trophoblasts through targeting RELA and affecting NF-κB signaling. The miR-138/RELA axis might be involved in preeclampsia pathogenesis, which requires further in vivo and clinical researches.

Silencing of ZNF217 gene influences the biological behavior of a human ovarian cancer cell line.

Zinc-finger protein 217 (ZNF217), a candidate oncogene on 20q13.2, can lead cultured human ovarian and mammary epithelial cells to immortalization, which indicates selective expression of ZNF217 affecting 20q13 amplification during critical early stages of cancer progression. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that ZNF217 is a key factor in regulating ovarian cancer proliferation and progression. We examined the effect of the inhibition of ZNF217 expression on proliferation and invasion by establishing the ZNF217 knockdown ovarian cancer cell line using RNA interference (RNAi). Our results showed that silencing of ZNF217 resulted in the effective inhibition of ovarian cancer cell growth and invasive ability. The results suggested that ZNF217 might play a crucial role in the proliferation and invasion of ovarian cancer.

ZNF217 is associated with poor prognosis and enhances proliferation and metastasis in ovarian cancer.

ZNF217 is an alternatively spliced Kruppel-like transcription factor that has recently been implicated to play a role in human carcinogenesis. Here, we used immunohistochemistry (IHC) to show that ZNF217 protein is overexpressed in nearly 60% of ovarian tumor samples. The disease-free survival time was shorter in patients with positive ZNF217 expression than in ZNF217-negative patients (P=0.042). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis showed ZNF217 genomic amplification in the poorly differentiated tumors, suggesting that ZNF217 is associated with the progression of ovarian cancer. Invasion was enhanced in HO-8910 cells stably transfected with constructs carrying full-length ZNF217 relative to cells transfected with the empty vector. To confirm our findings in vivo, we performed a tumorigenicity assay in nude mice inoculated with the HO-8910 overexpressing ZNF217 cells. As expected, tumors grown in the ZNF217 group were more invasive and prone to metastasis than those formed control groups. Based on these clinical and laboratory observations, we conclude that ZNF217 may contribute to ovarian cancer invasion and metastasis, and associated with worse clinical outcomes.

The developmental pattern of the RAS/RAF/Erk1/2 pathway in the BTBR autism mouse model.

BTBR mice exhibit several autistic-like behaviors and are currently used as a model for understanding mechanisms that may be responsible for the pathogenesis of autism. Ras/Raf/ERK1/2 signaling has been suggested to play an important role in neural development, learning, memory, and cognition. Two studies reported that a deletion of a locus on chromosome 16 containing the mitogen-activated protein kinase 3 (MAPK3) gene, which encodes ERK1, is associated with autism. In the present study, Ras/Raf/ERK1/2 signaling was found to be up-regulated in BTBR mice relative to matched control B6 mice, to further suggest involvement in the pathogenesis of autism. To further characterize the developmental pattern of Ras/Raf/ERK1/2 signaling, varying stages during development were sampled to reveal an up-regulation in newborn and 2-week old BTBR mice relative to age-matched B6 mice. By the age of 3-week, Ras/Raf/ERK1/2 signaling in the brain of BTBR mice was unaltered relative to B6 mice, with this trend maintained in 6-week samples. These results suggest that the alteration of Ras/Raf/ERK signaling in the early developmental stages in mice could contribute to the noted autistic phenotype. Furthermore, these findings support the value of BTBR mice to serve as a human analog for autistic etiological research and aid in a better understanding of the developmental mechanisms of autism.

[Correlation of fetal chromosomal abnormalities to prenatal ultrasound features].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between fetal chromosomal abnormalities and the characteristic features of prenatal ultrasound findings. METHODS: A total of 510 cases were underwent chromosome examination by amniotic fluid or cord blood analysis to identify fetal chromosomal abnormalities. The correlation between the abnormalities and the characteristics of the prenatal ultrasound findings was analyzed. RESULTS: Fifty-three cases of abnormal karyotypes were detected with a positivity rate of 10.2%. Of these cases, 32 cases had chromosome number abnormalities, including 15 with 21-trisomy, 11 with 18-trisomy, 2 with 13-trisomy, 2 with 45, XO monomer and 2 with 92, XXXX tetraploid. Chromosome structural abnormalities were found in 21 cases, including 4 with translocation, 3 with insertion, 6 with inversion, 4 with deletion and 4 with derivation. Prenatal ultrasound showed obvious structural abnormalities in 22 cases (41.5%), structural malformation with ultrasonographic soft markers in 18 cases (34.0%), and separate ultrasonographic soft markers in 8 cases (15.1%). CONCLUSION: Prenatal ultrasound fetal abnormalities and chromosome abnormalities are closely related. Prenatal ultrasound of fetal chromosomal abnormalities usually presents with a variety of significant structural abnormalities. A greater number of malformations is associated with a greater risk of chromosomal abnormalities and increased occurrence of ultrasonographic soft markers.

[Expression of ZNF217 in human ovarian cystadenocarcinoma and its clinical significance].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlation of ZNF217 expression to the carcinogenesis and progression of human ovarian cancer. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry and real-time RT-PCR were used to detect ZNF217 expression in human ovarian cystadenocarcinoma, ovarian cystadenoma and normal ovary tissues. RESULTS: The expression levels of ZNF217 protein and mRNA in ovarian cystadenocarcinoma was significantly higher than those in matched ovarian cystadenoma and normal tissues (P<0.05). No significant difference was found in the expression between ovarian cystadenoma and normal ovarian tissues (P>0.05). The mRNA expression in the specimens was consistent with the protein expression of ZNF217 (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: ZNF217 gene expression is closely correlated to the occurrence and clinical stages of ovarian carcinomas, suggesting that ZNF217 can be an important candidate gene responsible for the occurrence and progression of ovarian carcinomas.

[Denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography for screening antithrombin III gene mutation and polymorphisms in patients with cerebral venous thrombosis].

OBJECTIVE: To identify antithrombin III (AT-III) gene mutation and polymorphisms in pregnant women and parturients with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC). METHODS: The genomic DNA was extracted from the blood samples of 50 pregnant women and parturients with CVT and 52 matched healthy women for molecular analysis using a PCR/DHPLC assay followed by DNA sequence analysis. Ten primer pairs were designed for amplifying the AT- III promoter region and exons 1-6 including the exon/intron boundaries. A rapid screening assay based on DHPLC was established to screen the mutation and polymorphisms of AT- III gene. RESULTS: Six abnormal peaks were detected in 40 of the patients by DHPLC. Direct DNA sequencing was performed on representative samples detected by DHPLC profiling. One pathogenic heterozygous G13328A missense mutation in exon 6, and a novel silent mutation in exon 4+243 G>A were identified. Six single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites were found, including 4 previously reported ones in the SNP library and two were novel SNP sites. An abnormal peak was detected in the control group by DHPLC. CONCLUSION: DHPLC allows automated and rapid high-throughput detection of AT- III gene mutation and polymorphisms in the clinical setting and prenatal diagnosis. Our findings suggested that AT- III gene mutation, as well as its polymorphisms, contributes to the occurrence of CVT in pregnant women and parturients.

[Establishment of a nude mouse model bearing orthotopically transplanted human ovarian carcinoma expressing green fluorescent protein].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a human ovarian cancer-bearing mouse model via orthotopic transplantation of human HO-8910 cells expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP). METHODS: GFP-expressing human ovarian carcinoma HO8910/GFP cells (2 x 10(6)) in exponential phase of growth were inoculated subcutaneously in nude mice, and the generated tumor tissues were collected and transplanted below the capsule of the left ovary of 6 nude mice. The growth of the tumors was observed in vivo using a fluorescence stereomicroscope. The nude mice were sacrificed 4 weeks after transplantation to assess the tumor growth and metastasis. RESULTS: The tumors showed progressive growth at the orthotopic sites in all animals. Two weeks after the transplantation, green fluorescent mass was observed at the left costovertebral angle, and the mass increased thereafter and invaded or metastasized to the peritoneum, omentum, spleen, liver, uterus, and the pelvic lymph nodes, with a metastatic rate as much as 66.7%. CONCLUSION: The nude mouse model bearing orthotopic human ovarian carcinoma expressing GFP has been successfully established.