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

RACCA ANA; RIDANO, MAGALÍ; CAMOLOTTO SOLEDAD; GENTI DE RAIMONDI SUSANA; PANZETTA DE DUTARI GRACIELA

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

Krüppel-like factor 6: A possible novel regulator of villous trophoblast fusion Racca AC, Ridano ME, Camolotto SA, Genti-Raimondi S, Panzetta-Dutari G Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, CIBICI?CONICET, Córdoba, Argentina 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. Keywords: KLF6, fusion, trophoblast