EP300 facilitates human trophoblast stem cell differentiation.

Early placenta development involves cytotrophoblast differentiation into extravillous trophoblast (EVT) and syncytiotrophoblast (STB). Defective trophoblast development and function may result in severe pregnancy complications, including fetal growth restriction and pre-eclampsia. The incidence of these complications is increased in pregnancies of fetuses affected by Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome, a developmental disorder predominantly caused by heterozygous mutations in CREB-binding protein () or E1A-binding protein p300 ().

TBX2, a Novel Regulator of Labour.

: Therapeutic interventions targeting molecular factors involved in the transition from uterine quiescence to overt labour are not substantially reducing the rate of spontaneous preterm labour. The identification of novel rational therapeutic targets are essential to prevent the most common cause of neonatal mortality. Based on our previous work showing that Tbx2 (T-Box transcription factor 2) is a putative upstream regulator preceding progesterone withdrawal in mouse myometrium, we now investigate the role of TBX2 in human myometrium.

Total bile acids in the maternal and fetal compartment in relation to placental ABCG2 expression in preeclamptic pregnancies complicated by HELLP syndrome.

Objective: To investigate total bile acid (TBA) levels in maternal (MB) and umbilical cord blood (UCB) in normotensive, preeclamptic (PE), and PE pregnancies complicated by hemolysis elevated liver enzymes and low platelets (HELLP) syndrome in the context of ABCG2 placental gene expression levels, a recently reported placental bile acid transporter.

Methods: TBA levels were determined in 83 paired MB and UCB samples of normotensive, PE and PE/HELLP pregnancies and in 22 paired arterial and venous UCB samples from uncomplicated term pregnancies. ABCG2 gene expression was measured in 104 human placentas by reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

Expression of placental FLT1 transcript variants relates to both gestational hypertensive disease and fetal growth.

The recent discovery of additional alternative spliced FLT1 transcripts encoding novel soluble (s)FLT1 protein isoforms complicates both the predictive value and functional implications of sFLT1 in preeclampsia. We investigated FLT1 expression levels and splicing patterns in placentas of normotensive and preeclamptic women, and established the tissue specificity of all FLT1 transcript variants. mRNA levels of sFLT1 splice variants were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction in 21 normal human tissues and placental biopsies from 91 normotensive and 55 preeclamptic women.

Initial characterization of C16orf89, a novel thyroid-specific gene.

Background: Thyroid hormone is prerequisite for proper fetal and postnatal neurodevelopment, growth, and metabolism. Although much progress has been made in the characterization of genes implicated in thyroid development and function, the majority of genes involved in this process are still unknown. We have previously applied serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) to identify novel genes preferentially expressed in the thyroid, and this has resulted in the characterization of DUOX2 and IYD (also known as DEHAL1), two genes encoding essential enzymes in the production of thyroid hormone.

Genes differentially expressed in thyroid carcinoma identified by comparison of SAGE expression profiles.

To identify transcripts that distinguish malignant from benign thyroid disease serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) profiles of papillary thyroid carcinoma and of normal thyroid are compared. Of the 21,000 tags analyzed, 204 tags are differentially expressed with statistical significance in the tumor. Thyroid tumor specificity of these transcripts is determined in silico using the tissue preferential expression (TPE) algorithm.