Uterine Activin-Like Kinase 4 Regulates Trophoblast Development During Mouse Placentation.

ABSTRACT: The placenta is the first organ to develop after fertilization. It forms an interface between the maternal uterus and growing fetus to allow nutrient uptake, waste elimination, and gas exchange for a successful pregnancy in both mice and humans. In the past 2 decades, in vivo and in vitro approaches have been used to show that several members of the TGF-β superfamily regulate embryo implantation and placental development. Nodal, a TGF-β superfamily ligand, is essential for mesendoderm formation and left-right axis patterning during embryogenesis, and Nodal null mutants exhibit abnormal placental organization with expansion of trophoblast giant cells and a decrease of spongiotrophoblast and labyrinth. To better understand the importance of Nodal signaling in the uterus, we established a mou

SUBMITTER: Peng J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4664232 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature