Evolutionary transcriptomics implicates new genes and pathways in human pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

ABSTRACT: Evolutionary changes in the anatomy and physiology of the female reproductive system underlie the origins and diversification of pregnancy in Eutherian ('placental') mammals. This developmental and evolutionary history constrains normal physiological functions and biases the ways in which dysfunction contributes to reproductive trait diseases and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Here, we show that gene expression changes in the human endometrium during pregnancy are associated with the evolution of human-specific traits and pathologies of pregnancy. We found that hundreds of genes gained or lost endometrial expression in the human lineage. Among these are genes that may contribute to human-specific maternal-fetal communication (HTR2B) and maternal-fetal immunotolerance (PDCD1LG2)

SUBMITTER: Mika K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8660021 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature