Placental expression of SCO-spondin during mouse and human development

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Abstract

During mammalian development, the placenta is a transitory but indispensable structure for a harmonious gestation involving several biological processes, such as adhesion, differentiation, apoptosis or cellular guidance. Nevertheless, the molecular pathways implicated during the placentation are still not totally understood. We previously described, the subcommissural organ (SCO)-spondin, a member of the ‘thrombospondin’ super-family, which is strongly expressed during mammalian central nervous system development. This extra-cellular matrix glycoprotein shows a unique arrangement of several conserved domains, including thrombospondin type 1 repeats, low-density lipoprotein receptor type A domains, two epidermal growth factor-like domains, and N- and C-terminal von Willebrand factor cysteine-rich domains. The presence of these domains strongly suggests the SCO-spondin involvement in cellular events occurring during placental development and physiology. In order to define this new role of SCO-spondin during development, we demonstrated its expression at relevant steps of gestation in human and mouse placenta, using RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and Western-blot experiments. These data initiate further insights into the molecular and genetic functions of the neuronal gene SCO-spondin during trophoblastic and more globally during placental physiology and development.

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Results and discussion

SCO-spondin transcripts were detected at the first stages of mouse (7 days post-coı̈tum, 7 dpc) and human (6th week of gestation) placentation (lines 3 and 7 of Fig. 1) and were still present until placental senescence and parturition (lines 6 and 10 of Fig. 1 and data not shown). The SCO-spondin was a new member of the thrombospondin super-family to be expressed in placental structures during mammalian development. Nevertheless, it was the first time that this chorio-allantoic placental

Methods

Placental tissues and amniotic fluid were (i) frozen at −80 °C for RT-PCR and Western-blot experiments and (ii) placed in molds with embedding medium and frozen on the surface of dry ice for immunohistochemistry assays. Sectioning and immunohistochemistry were performed as already described (Blanchon et al., 2001) using three primary rabbit specific epitop antibodies against bovine Reissner's fiber isolated from the central canal (Meiniel et al., 1996), a peptide deduced from the mouse

Acknowledgements

Nicolas Gonçalves-Mendes and Loı̈c Blanchon are supported by a grant from the Ministère de l'Education de la Recherche et de la Technologie (MERT).

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