Project description:We performed deep sequencing of small RNA in the fetal brain and placenta of male and female fetuses to study expression pattern of miRNA and identify key miRNAs that are relevant to gene regulation of the brain-placental axis
Project description:Fetal sex influences the accessibility of the placental chromatin to REST. REST targeted fewer sites in the female placental compared to that of male. REST bound to 7,254 common sites in both sexes but nearly 17-fold more number of sites in the male placenta compared to the female placenta.
Project description:Single-cell transcriptional response of placenta to the ablation of Caveolin-1 in mice: insights into the regulation of brain-placental axis
Project description:Single-cell transcriptional response of placenta to the ablation of Caveolin-1 in mice: insights into the regulation of brain-placental axis [scRNA-Seq]
Project description:Single-cell transcriptional response of placenta to the ablation of Caveolin-1 in mice: insights into the regulation of brain-placental axis [bulk RNA-seq]
Project description:The mammalian placenta is both the physical interface between mother and fetus, and the source of endocrine signals that target the maternal hypothalamus, priming females for parturition, lactation and motherhood. Despite the importance of this connection, the effects of altered placental signaling on the maternal brain are understudied. Here, we show that placental dysfunction alters gene expression in the maternal brain, with the potential to affect maternal behavior. Using a cross between the house mouse and the Algerian mouse in which hybrid placental development is abnormal, we sequenced late gestation placental and maternal medial preoptic area transcriptomes and quantified differential expression and placenta-maternal brain co-expression between normal and hybrid pregnancies. The expression of Fmn1, Drd3, Caln1 and Ctsr was significantly altered in the brains of females exposed to hybrid placentas. Most strikingly, expression patterns of placenta-specific gene families and Drd3 in the brains of house mouse females carrying hybrid litters matched those of female Algerian mice, the paternal species in the cross. Our results indicate that the paternally-derived placental genome can influence the expression of maternal-fetal communication genes, including placental hormones, suggesting an effect of the offspring's father on the mother’s brain.