1
|
Slim R, Khawajkie Y, Hoffner L, Tan L, Ab. Rafea B, Aguinagua M, Horowitz NS, Ao A, Tan SL, Brown R, Buckett W, Surti U, Hovanes K, Sahoo T, Sauthier P. P–553 Women with molar pregnancies have a genetic susceptibility to aneuploid miscarriages. Hum Reprod 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/humrep/deab130.552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Study question
What causes non-molar miscarriages in women with one hydatidiform mole (HM)?
Summary answer
We found a higher rate of aneuploidies in the non-molar miscarriages of women with HM than in those from women with sporadic or recurrent miscarriages.
What is known already
Women with hydatidiform moles have higher rates of miscarriages and women with recurrent miscarriages have higher rates of moles than women from the general population.
Study design, size, duration
We retrieved archived formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissues from non-molar miscarriages of patients with one HM and analyzed them for the presence of aneuploidies using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-microarray. We next determined the meiotic origin of the aneuploidies by genotyping the aneuploid non-molar miscarriages along with the parental genomes using microsatellite markers.
Participants/materials, setting, methods
All participants and some of their partners provided written consent to participate in our study, agreed to a blood draw for genotyping analysis, and agreed for us to retrieve their molar and non-molar tissues from various histopathology laboratories for research purposes.
Main results and the role of chance
We demonstrate for the first time that patients with an HM and miscarriages are at higher risk for aneuploid miscarriages [83.3%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.653–0.944] than women with sporadic (51.5%, 95% CI: 50.3–52.7%, p value = 0.0003828) or recurrent miscarriages (43.8%, 95% CI: 40.7–47.0%, p value = 0.00002). Genotyping the aneuploid miscarriages and the parental genomes demonstrated that most of the aneuploidies originated from errors in maternal meiosis I or II.
Limitations, reasons for caution
We were able to retrieve only 30 non-molar miscarriages from women with one HM for analysis. Expanding such analysis to a larger and independent cohort of miscarriages from such patients will be important to validate our observations.
Wider implications of the findings: Our data suggest common genetic female germline defects predisposing to HM and aneuploid non-molar miscarriages in some patients.
Trial registration number
Not applicable
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- R Slim
- McGill University Health Center Research Institute, Department of Human Genetics and Obstetrics and Gynecology, Montreal- QC, Canada
| | - Y Khawajkie
- McGill University Health Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Montreal- QC, Canada
| | - L Hoffner
- University of Pittsburgh- School of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Pittsburgh- PA, USA
| | - L Tan
- London Health Sciences Centre, The Fertility Clinic, London- ON, Canada
| | - B Ab. Rafea
- London Health Sciences Centre, The Fertility Clinic, London- ON, Canada
| | - M Aguinagua
- Instituto Nacional de Perinatologia, Genetics and Genomics Department, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - N S Horowitz
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital- Harvard Medical School, Division of Gynecologic Oncology- Department of Obstetrics- Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Boston- MA, Canada
| | - A Ao
- McGill University Health Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Montreal- QC, Canada
| | - S L Tan
- McGill University Health Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Montreal- QC, Canada
| | - R Brown
- McGill University Health Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Montreal- QC, Canada
| | - W Buckett
- McGill University Health Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Montreal- QC, Canada
| | - U Surti
- University of Pittsburgh- School of Medicine, Department of Pathology, Pittsburgh- PA, USA
| | | | - T Sahoo
- Irvine, Invitae, ca 92618, USA
| | - P Sauthier
- Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Department of Obsterics and Gynecology- Gynecology Oncology Division, Montreal- QC, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Hovanes K, Li TW, Munguia JE, Truong T, Milovanovic T, Lawrence Marsh J, Holcombe RF, Waterman ML. Beta-catenin-sensitive isoforms of lymphoid enhancer factor-1 are selectively expressed in colon cancer. Nat Genet 2001; 28:53-7. [PMID: 11326276 DOI: 10.1038/ng0501-53] [Citation(s) in RCA: 309] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Constitutive activation of the Wnt signaling pathway is a root cause of many colon cancers. Activation of this pathway is caused by genetic mutations that stabilize the beta-catenin protein, allowing it to accumulate in the nucleus and form complexes with any member of the lymphoid enhancer factor (LEF1) and T-cell factor (TCF1, TCF3, TCF4) family of transcription factors (referred to collectively as LEF/TCFs) to activate transcription of target genes. Target genes such as MYC, CCND1, MMP7 and TCF7 (refs. 5-9) are normally expressed in colon tissue, so it has been proposed that abnormal expression levels or patterns imposed by beta-catenin/TCF complexes have a role in tumor progression. We report here that LEF1 is a new type of target gene ectopically activated in colon cancer. The pattern of this ectopic expression is unusual because it derives from selective activation of a promoter for a full-length LEF1 isoform that binds beta-catenin, but not a second, intronic promoter that drives expression of a dominant-negative isoform. beta-catenin/TCF complexes can activate the promoter for full-length LEF1, indicating that in cancer high levels of these complexes misregulate transcription to favor a positive feedback loop for Wnt signaling by inducing selective expression of full-length, beta-catenin-sensitive forms of LEF/TCFs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- K Hovanes
- Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Department, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
3
|
Hovanes K, Li TW, Waterman ML. The human LEF-1 gene contains a promoter preferentially active in lymphocytes and encodes multiple isoforms derived from alternative splicing. Nucleic Acids Res 2000; 28:1994-2003. [PMID: 10756202 PMCID: PMC103301 DOI: 10.1093/nar/28.9.1994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Lymphoid Enhancer Factor-1 (LEF-1) is a member of a family of transcription factors that function as downstream mediators of the Wnt signal transduction pathway. In the absence of Wnt signals, specific LEF/TCF isoforms repress rather than activate gene targets through recruitment of the co-repressor CtBP. Characterization of the full-length human LEF-1 gene locus and its complete set of mRNA products shows that this family member exists as a unique set of alternatively spliced isoforms; none are homologous to TCF-1E/TCF-4E. Therefore LEF-1 is distinct from its TCF family members in that it cannot engage in activities specific to this isoform such as recruitment of the co-repressor CtBP. Expression of alternatively spliced LEF-1 isoforms are driven by a promoter that is highly active in lymphocyte cell lines. Transcription initiates within a TATA-less core promoter region that contains consensus binding sites for Sp1, an E box, an Initiator element and a LEF/TCF binding site, all juxtaposed to the start sites of transcription. The promoter is most active in a B lymphocyte cell line (Raji) in which the endogenous LEF-1 gene is silent, suggesting that the promoter region is actively repressed by a silencing mechanism.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- K Hovanes
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, College of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-4025, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Porfiri E, Rubinfeld B, Albert I, Hovanes K, Waterman M, Polakis P. Induction of a beta-catenin-LEF-1 complex by wnt-1 and transforming mutants of beta-catenin. Oncogene 1997; 15:2833-9. [PMID: 9419974 DOI: 10.1038/sj.onc.1201462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Signal transduction by beta-catenin involves its posttranslational stabilization and import to the nucleus where it interacts with transcription factors. Recent implications for beta-catenin signaling in cancer prompted us to examine colon cancer cell lines for the expression of LEF-1, a transcription factor that binds to beta-catenin. The analysis of several cell lines revealed the expression of LEF1 mRNA and a constitutive association of the LEF-1 protein with beta-catenin. In contrast to the colon cells, PC12 and 293 cells did not contain a beta-catenin-LEF-1 complex, even though both proteins were detected in cell lysates. In these cells, the association of endogenous LEF1 and beta-catenin was induced by stimulation with the wnt-1 proto-oncogene. The complex formed following transient stimulation with wnt-1 and also persisted in cells stably expressing wnt-1. Ectopic overexpression of beta-catenin in 293 cells also induced the assembly of the beta-catenin-LEF-1 complex and activated gene transcription from a LEF-1-dependent promotor. Expression of mutant oncogenic forms of beta-catenin identified in cancer cells resulted in higher levels of transcriptional activity. The results suggest that a cancer pathway driven by wnt-1, or mutant forms of beta-catenin, may involve the formation of a persistent transcriptionally active complex of beta-catenin and LEF1.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- E Porfiri
- ONYX Pharmaceuticals, Richmond, California 94806, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Dixon J, Hovanes K, Shiang R, Dixon MJ. Sequence analysis, identification of evolutionary conserved motifs and expression analysis of murine tcof1 provide further evidence for a potential function for the gene and its human homologue, TCOF1. Hum Mol Genet 1997; 6:727-37. [PMID: 9158147 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/6.5.727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The gene mutated in Treacher Collins syndrome, an autosomal dominant disorder of facial development, has recently been cloned. While the function of the predicted protein, Treacle, is unknown, it has been shown to share a number of features with the highly phosphorylated nucleolar phosphoproteins, which play a role in nucleolar-cytoplasmic transport. In the current study, the murine homologue of the Treacher Collins syndrome gene has been isolated and shown to encode a low complexity, serine/alanine-rich protein of 133 kDa. Interspecies comparison indicates that the proteins display 61.5% identity, with the level of conservation being greatest in the regions of acidic/basic amino acid repeats and nuclear localization signals. These features are shared with the nucleolar phosphoproteins. Confirmation that the gene isolated in the current study is orthologous with the Treacher Collins syndrome gene was provided by the demonstration that it mapped to central mouse chromosome 18 in a conserved syntenic region with human chromosome 5q21-q33. Expression analysis in the mouse indicated that the gene was expressed in a wide variety of embryonic and adult tissues. Peak levels of expression in the developing embryo were observed at the edges of the neural folds immediately prior to fusion, and also in the developing branchial arches at the times of critical morphogenetic events. These observations support a role for the gene in the development of the craniofacial complex and provide further evidence that the gene encodes a protein which may be involved in nucleolar-cytoplasmic transport.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J Dixon
- School of Biological Sciences and Department of Dental Medicine, University of Manchester, UK
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
Douglas GC, Hu J, Thirkill TL, Hovanes K, Fuller M, King BF. Cyclohexylamine inhibits the adhesion of lymphocytic cells to human syncytiotrophoblast. Biochim Biophys Acta 1995; 1266:229-34. [PMID: 7766708 DOI: 10.1016/0167-4889(95)00025-n] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
We have previously shown that lymphocytic cells adhere to cultured syncytiotrophoblast and that this may be important in the lymphocyte-mediated infection of trophoblast with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). During the course of studies aimed at investigating the role of cell surface carbohydrates in adhesion, it was discovered that a contaminant of commercial fucose-1-phosphate, dicyclohexylamine, inhibited MOLT-trophoblast adhesion. Dicyclohexylamine and the related compounds, cyclohexylamine and hexylamine, inhibited adhesion in a dose-responsive manner with half-maximal inhibition seen at about 4 mM. While the pressor effects of cyclohexylamine, the principal metabolite of cyclamate, are well known, this is the first report of an effect of this and related compounds on cell adhesion activity. The inhibitory effect was reversible and, at concentrations less than 25 mM, did not result in loss of cell viability. Several possible mechanisms of action of cyclohexylamine were examined in an attempt to explain the effect on adhesion. No evidence was found to suggest that the effects of cyclohexylamine were due to inhibition of polyamine synthesis, increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration or to a lysosomotropic effect. The concentrations of cyclohexylamine used are within the range of plasma concentrations attainable in humans, raising the possibility that the in vitro effects described here may also occur in vivo. The results also suggest that caution should be used in the interpretation of results obtained from experiments where cell adhesion is blocked using exogenous monosaccharides that are in the form of dicyclohexylammonium salts. Appropriate controls must be included or, if possible, sodium, potassium or barium salts should be chosen.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- G C Douglas
- Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis 95616-8643, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Douglas GC, Hu J, Thirkill TL, Hovanes K, Sharma S, King BF. Effect of cytokines and anti-adhesion molecule antibodies on the adhesion of lymphocytic cells to human syncytiotrophoblast. J Reprod Immunol 1994; 27:49-62. [PMID: 7807471 DOI: 10.1016/0165-0378(94)90014-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
We have previously shown that lymphocytic cells bind to cultured syncytiotrophoblast and that this may be important in the lymphocyte-mediated infection of trophoblast with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Leukocyte-trophoblast adhesion may also have implications for normal trophoblast function. The following experiments were designed to characterize the adhesion systems that mediate the attachment of lymphocytic cells to trophoblast. Adhesion was assayed by labelling lymphocytic MOLT-4, clone 8 cells with the fluorescent marker, calcein-AM, and then incubating them with primary cultures of human syncytiotrophoblast. Adhesion was stimulated by pretreatment of the trophoblast cultures with several cytokines either alone or together. These included tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), granulocyte/macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). Stimulation was time- and dose-dependent. In contrast, preincubation of trophoblast cultures with anti-TNF-alpha antibodies for 2 days reduced MOLT adhesion by almost 50%. Preincubation with other anti-cytokine antibodies had no significant effect on adhesion. In other experiments, adhesion was measured in the presence of antibodies to known adhesion molecules. Adhesion was reduced by 50% in the presence of antibodies to alpha 4 integrin or beta 1 integrin. When present together, these antibodies reduced adhesion by almost 85%. Incubation in the presence of antibodies to the very late activation antigen-4 (VLA-4; alpha 4 beta 1 integrin) counter-receptors, VCAM-1 and CS-1, was without effect. Adhesion was also unaffected by antibodies to LFA-1, ICAM-1, ICAM-2, LFA-2, or LFA-3. These results suggest that adhesion is mediated by an adhesion system consisting of lymphocyte VLA-4 (alpha 4 beta 1) and an as yet unidentified counter receptor on trophoblast.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- G C Douglas
- Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis 95616-8643
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Douglas GC, Sloan CL, Hovanes K, Thirkill TL, Fry GN, Hakim H, Schmerl S, Jennings M, King BF. Adhesion of lymphocytic cells to human trophoblast cells in vitro. J Reprod Immunol 1993; 24:65-80. [PMID: 8102403 DOI: 10.1016/0165-0378(93)90036-h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The adherence of lymphocytic MOLT-4/clone 8 cells and normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to primary cultures of term human syncytiotrophoblast has been characterized. Adherence was measured using a fluorescence-based assay in which leukocytic cells were labelled with calcein-AM. Adherence of MOLT cells to syncytiotrophoblast increased in a time-dependent fashion up to about 4 h after which adhesion decreased. Adhesion was detectable at 4 degrees C but was greatly reduced compared to that seen at 37 degrees C. Binding increased linearly as the ratio of MOLT cells to trophoblast was increased. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy of MOLT cell-trophoblast cocultures revealed lymphocytes adherent to the free microvillous surface of the syncytiotrophoblast masses. MOLT cells also adhered to cytotrophoblast but the extent of binding was lower than to syncytiotrophoblast. Normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells adhered to syncytiotrophoblast. Preincubation of trophoblast cells with trypsin in the presence of calcium had no effect on subsequent adhesion of MOLT cells. However, preincubation of trophoblast cells with trypsin in the absence of divalent cations reduced subsequent adhesion. Adhesion of MOLT cells to syncytiotrophoblast was dependent on magnesium and calcium. These results show for the first time that lymphocytic cells adhere to isolated human syncytiotrophoblast and raise the possibility that this may be an important phenomenon in vivo.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- G C Douglas
- Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis 95616-8643
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|