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Abstract

Placental insufficiency disorders, including preeclampsia (PET), intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and preterm labor (PTL), are major obstetric complications that can have devastating effects on both the mother and the fetus. These syndromes share a common phenomenon of poor placental trophoblast cell invasion into the uterine tissue. To date there are no effective treatments for these illnesses. Placental invasion is controlled by many hormones and growth factors, among which the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β superfamily is a well-known regulator. Myostatin (MSTN) is a TGF-β superfamily member recognized for its important role in muscle growth control. Recently, MSTN was shown to be secreted and functioning in the placenta. In addition, MSTN serum and/or placental levels were found to be upregulated in common pregnancy complications including PET and IUGR. Yet, the role of MSTN in placental biology is poorly understood. In this study, I confirmed the positive effect of MSTN treatment on human trophoblast invasion and performed mRNA sequencing on control and MSTN-treated primary trophoblast cells (n=5). This analysis identified 610 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with a false discovery rate