Impact of TAZ (WWTR1) depletion on gene expression during primary first-trimester extravillous trophoblast differentiation
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ABSTRACT: Human placental cytotrophoblasts undergo differentiation into extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs) that anchor the placenta to the uterine wall and establish blood flow to the developing fetus. The transcriptional co-activator TAZ (WWTR1) is one of the main effectors of the Hippo signaling pathway, which regulates organ size by controlling important cellular processes such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, stem cell self-renewal and differentiation. Additionally, TAZ is involved in mechano-sensing and cell contact inhibition. In order to gain deeper insights into the function of TAZ in the EVT differentiation process, siRNA (small interfering RNA) treatment was employed to reduce TAZ levels in cytotrophoblasts, which were collected from placentae between 8th and 10th weeks of pregnancy, and underwent EVT differentiation in vitro. The objective of the study was to elucidate the influence of TAZ on the differentiation and function of EVTs by comparing the gene expression profiles of TAZ gene-silenced cells to those with normal TAZ levels.
Project description:This study aims to compare in vivo human trophoblast differentiation into EVTs to different in vitro trophoblast organoids using single-cell and single-nuclei RNA sequencing. The study includes two type of systems: human primary trophoblast organoids (PTO) and trophoblast stem cells (TSCs). Trophoblast stem cell (TSC) lines BTS5 and BTS11 derived by Okae and colleagues were grown as described previously (Okae et al. 2018) and together with EVT media. Primary trophoblast organoids (PTO) were grown and differentiated into EVT as previously described by Turco & Sheridan (Turco et al 2018; Sheridan et al 2020). This study shows that the main regulatory programs mediating EVT invasion in vivo are preserved in in vitro models of EVT differentiation from primary trophoblast organoids and trophoblast stem cells.
Project description:The transcriptional co-activator TAZ (WWTR1) plays a crucial role in regulating gene expression related to cell proliferation, differentiation, and tissue homeostasis, particularly within the Hippo signaling pathway. Since TAZ does not directly bind to DNA, it largely relies on its protein-protein interaction network to perform its functions, necessitating a detailed characterization of the TAZ interactome. To achieve this, a GFP-Nanotrap-based affinity purification approach combined with LC-MS/MS protein identification was employed to document a comprehensive list of both known and novel components of the TAZ interactome in myogenic cells.
Project description:We used adenoviral-mediated overexpression of MYC-BioID2, MYC-BioID2-SKI, MYC-BioID2-WWTR1 (TAZ) in human primary cardiac fibroblasts to elucidate the interaction between SKI and the Hippo signaling pathway. Original data is also available on the Global Proteome Machine (http://hs2.proteome.ca/tandem/thegpm_tandem.html). Datasets are identified as follows: GPM10000002938 and 2939 are untreated negative control cell lysates; GPM10000002941 and 2942 are "empty" MYC-BioID2 vector; GPM10000002943 and 2944 are MYC-BioID2-SKI; and GPM10000002944 and 2945 are MYC-BioID2-WWTR1(TAZ).
Project description:Aim of the study was to verify signaling pathway-provoked EVT specification in human first trimester placental and decidual tissue. We further provide improvement for in-vitro differentiated TB-ORG-EVTs to more closely mimic in-situ placental EVT geno- and phenotypes.
Project description:TAZ, also known as WWTR1, is the one of the effectors of Hippo pathway. With its paralog, YAP, TAZ promotes organ size growth as well as tumor metastasis. In human renal carcinoma cells, we found that TAZ-silencing induces resisntance toward erastin-induced ferroptosis. In this study, TAZ is silencing in clear cell carcinoma cell line RCC4 to elucidate the downstream targets that promotes the resistance toward erastin-induced ferroptosis.
Project description:The transcriptional co-activator TAZ/WWTR1 plays a central role in the Hippo signaling pathway and acts as crucial mediator in maintaining organ size and tissue homeostasis. Changes in its activity can lead to diseases, including cancer, due to uncontrolled cell growth or aberrant cellular behavior. The aim of this study was to identify gene signatures that are specifically regulated by TAZ in human trophoblast cells. This was achieved by comparing JEG-3 wild-type and TAZ knockout choriocarcinoma cells, generated with CRISPR-Cas9 technology.
Project description:We used trophoblast organoids differentiating to extravillous trophoblast (EVT) to study the effects of key cytokines secreted by uterine Natural Killer (uNK) cells on EVT behaviour. Specifically, we exposed the organoids to four uNK-derived cytokines (CSF1, CSF2, XCL1, CCL5) and collected cells at different time points along the EVT differentiation pathway for scRNA-seq. We observe enhanced EVT differentiation in cytokine-treated organoids demonstrated by the increased proportion of late EVT subtypes and regulation of related pathways such as epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Moreover, uNK cytokines affect other processes important during early pregnancy including dampening of inflammatory and adaptive immune responses, regulation of blood flow, and placental access to nutrients.
Project description:During early human pregnancy, extravillous trophoblasts (EVT) play a central role in placental anchorage and blood vessel remodeling. Despite the essential roles in pregnancy, key factors and mechanisms underlying EVT differentiation remain largely unknown. Here, we defined key transcription factors (TFs) by monitoring the dynamics of transcriptome and enhancer usage during EVT differentiation. We confirmed the requirements of the defined TFs and identified their action mechanisms.