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Epithelial membrane protein 2 (EMP2) deficiency alters placental angiogenesis, mimicking features of human placental insufficiency.

ABSTRACT: Epithelial membrane protein-2 (EMP2) is a tetraspan protein predicted to regulate placental development. Highly expressed in secretory endometrium and trophectoderm cells, previous studies suggest that it may regulate implantation by orchestrating the surface expression of integrins and other membrane proteins. In order to test the role of EMP2 in pregnancy, mice lacking EMP2 (Emp2-/- ) were generated. Emp2-/- females are fertile but have reduced litter sizes when carrying Emp2-/- but not Emp2+/- fetuses. Placentas of Emp2-/- fetuses exhibit dysregulation in pathways related to neoangiogenesis, coagulation, and oxidative stress, and have increased fibrin deposition and altered vasculature. Given that these findings often occur due to placental insufficiency resulting in an oxygen-poor environment, the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1?) was examined. Placentas from Emp2-/- fetuses had increased total HIF-1? expression in large part through an increase in uterine NK (uNK) cells, demonstrating a unique interplay between uNK cells and trophoblasts modulated through EMP2. To determine if these results translated to human pregnancy, placentas from normal, term deliveries or those complicated by placental insufficiency resulting in intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) were stained for EMP2. EMP2 was significantly reduced in both villous and extravillous trophoblast populations in IUGR placentas. Experiments in vitro using human trophoblast cells lines indicate that EMP2 modulates angiogenesis by altering HIF-1? expression. Our results reveal a novel role for EMP2 in regulating trophoblast function and vascular development in mice and humans, and suggest that it may be a new biomarker for placental insufficiency. Copyright © 2017 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

SUBMITTER: Williams CJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5444952 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Epithelial membrane protein 2 (EMP2) deficiency alters placental angiogenesis, mimicking features of human placental insufficiency.

Williams Carmen J CJ Chu Alison A Jefferson Wendy N WN Casero David D Sudhakar Deepthi D Khurana Nevil N Hogue Claire P CP Aryasomayajula Chinmayi C Patel Priya P Sullivan Peggy P Padilla-Banks Elizabeth E Mohandessi Shabnam S Janzen Carla C Wadehra Madhuri M

The Journal of pathology 20170503 2

Epithelial membrane protein-2 (EMP2) is a tetraspan protein predicted to regulate placental development. Highly expressed in secretory endometrium and trophectoderm cells, previous studies suggest that it may regulate implantation by orchestrating the surface expression of integrins and other membrane proteins. In order to test the role of EMP2 in pregnancy, mice lacking EMP2 (Emp2<sup>-/-</sup> ) were generated. Emp2<sup>-/-</sup> females are fertile but have reduced litter sizes when carrying ...[more]

PMID: 28295343

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Project description:Pathologic retinal neovascularization is a potentially blinding consequence seen in many common diseases including diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, and retinal vascular occlusive diseases, among others. The use of therapeutics targeting pro-angiogenesis factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has proven to be highly effective, however considerable side effects exist and serial anti-VEGF treatment has been shown to decrease effectiveness over time. Characterization of additional regulators of neovascularization is needed to further understand neovascular disease and identify possible new therapeutic targets. This study investigates epithelial membrane protein 2 (EMP2) and its role as a possible modulator of angiogenesis in human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) under hypoxia. EMP2 is highly expressed in human RPE and RPE cell lines. Adult retinal pigment epithelial cell line-19 (ARPE-19) cells were genetically modified to either overexpress EMP2 (OE) or knock down EMP2 (KD) and expression at the RNA and protein level was evaluated using RNA sequencing and western blot respectively. Protein expression was evaluated under both normoxic conditions and conditions of hypoxic stress with 0.5% O2. EMP2 expression was found to positively correlate with expression of the pro-angiogenesis factors hypoxia inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1a) and VEGF for both RNA and protein. EMP2 mediated changes in ARPE-19 cells was also found to alter the secretion of a paracrine factor(s) in conditioned media that can regulate human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) endothelial cell migration and capillary tube formation in in vitro functional angiogenesis assays. This study identifies EMP2 as a potentially important mediator of angiogenesis in the human RPE, a tissue involved in abnormal retinal neovascularization in a number of diseases. EMP2 levels positively correlate with those of the potent pro-angiogenesis mediators HIF-1a and VEGF, however the mechanism of this relationship remains to be clarified. This study supports further investigation of EMP2 as a promising novel target for therapeutic treatment of pathologic neovascularization in the retina.

Dataset Information

Epithelial membrane protein 2 (EMP2) deficiency alters placental angiogenesis, mimicking features of human placental insufficiency.

Publications

Epithelial membrane protein 2 (EMP2) deficiency alters placental angiogenesis, mimicking features of human placental insufficiency.

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