Krüppel-like factor 6: A possible novel regulator of villous trophoblast fusion

A RACCA; RIDANO, ME; CAMOLOTTO S; GENTI-RAIMONDI S; PANZETTA DE DUTARI GM

Foz Iguazçu

Simposio; V Latin American Symposium on Maternal Fetal Interaction & Placenta IV Latin American Symposium on Reproductive Immunology; 2013

SLIMP

Krüppel-Like Factor 6 (KLF6) is a highly expressed placenta transcription factor. klf6-/- knockout mice die by embryonic day 12.5 and are characterized by impaired placental development. Our aim is to elucidate KLF6 role in trophoblasts during differentiation. Silencing and overexpression of KLF6 experiments were performed in primary villous cytotrophoblast (CTB) and JEG-3 cells. Cell fusion was analyzed by immunofluorescence and qRT-PCR. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Hospital Privado of Córdoba, Argentina. CTB were disabled to fuse, shown by desmoplakin staining, when KLF6 was silenced. In contrast, KLF6 overexpression in JEG-3 and CTB, increased the expression of fusion related genes such as Conexin-43, Syn-1, Syn-2 and ZO-1, but the rate was highly dependent on the placenta. Previously, we demonstrated that KLF6 up-regulates PSG and hCG regarded as placenta biochemical differentiation markers. Present data suggest that KLF6 is a novel regulator of villous trophoblast fusion