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Chu A, Kok SY, Tsui J, Lin MC, Aguirre B, Wadehra M. Epithelial membrane protein 2 (Emp2) modulates innate immune cell population recruitment at the maternal-fetal interface. J Reprod Immunol 2021; 145:103309. [PMID: 33774530 DOI: 10.1016/j.jri.2021.103309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Epithelial membrane protein 2 (EMP2) is a tetraspan membrane protein that has been revealed in cancer and placental models to mediate a number of vascular responses. Recently, Emp2 modulation has been shown to have an immunologic effect on uterine NK cell recruitment in the mouse placenta. Given the importance of immune cell populations on both placental vascularization and maternal immune tolerance of the developing fetus, we wanted to better characterize the immunologic effects of Emp2 at the placental-fetal interface. We performed flow cytometry of WT and Emp2 KO C57Bl/6 mouse uterine horns at GD12.5 to characterize immune cell populations localized to the various components of the maternal-fetal interface. We found that Emp2 KO decidua and placenta showed an elevated overall percentage of CD45+ cells compared to WT. Characterization of CD45+ cells in the decidua of Emp2 KO dams revealed an increase in NK cells, whereas in the placenta, Emp2 KO dams showed an increased percentage of M1 macrophages (with an increased ratio of M1/M2 macrophages). Given the differences detected in uNK cell populations in the decidua, we further characterized the interaction between Emp2 genetic KO and NK cell deletion via anti-asialo GM1 antibody injections. While the double knock-out of Emp2 and NK cells did not alter individual pup birthweight, it significantly reduced total litter weight and size by ∼50 %. In conclusion, Emp2 appears to regulate uNK and macrophage cell populations in pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison Chu
- Division of Neonatology and Developmental Biology, Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, MDCC B2-411, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Su-Yin Kok
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, 4525 MacDonald Research Laboratories, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Jessica Tsui
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, 4525 MacDonald Research Laboratories, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Meng-Chin Lin
- Division of Neonatology and Developmental Biology, Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, MDCC B2-411, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Brian Aguirre
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, 4525 MacDonald Research Laboratories, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Madhuri Wadehra
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, 4525 MacDonald Research Laboratories, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA; Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, 4525 MacDonald Research Laboratories, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
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A genome-wide scan for candidate lethal variants in Thoroughbred horses. Sci Rep 2020; 10:13153. [PMID: 32753654 PMCID: PMC7403398 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68946-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Domestic animal populations are often characterised by high rates of inbreeding and low effective population sizes due to selective breeding practices. These practices can result in otherwise rare recessive deleterious alleles drifting to high frequencies, resulting in reduced fertility rates. This study aimed to identify potential recessive lethal haplotypes in the Thoroughbred horse breed, a closed population that has been selectively bred for racing performance. In this study, we identified a haplotype in the LY49B gene that shows strong evidence of being homozygous lethal, despite having high frequencies of heterozygotes in Thoroughbreds and other domestic horse breeds. Variant analysis of whole-genome sequence data identified two SNPs in the 3'UTR of the LY49B gene that may result in loss of function. Analysis of transcriptomic data from equine embryonic tissue revealed that LY49B is expressed in the trophoblast during placentation stage of development. These findings suggest that LY49B may have an essential, but as yet unknown function in the implantation stage of equine development. Further investigation of this region may allow for the development of a genetic test to improve fertility rates in horse populations. Identification of other lethal variants could assist in improving natural levels of fertility in horse populations.
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