Characterization of galectin-16 expression and function in placental cells
Abstract
The processes of cellular differentiation and apoptosis are critical for placental development. The galectin-16 gene (LGALS16) is associated with these processes in the placenta, but the mechanism by which it acts is poorly characterized. My bioinformatics analysis revealed that LGALS16 expression was limited to specific tissues including the placenta and identified multiple regulatory molecules (transcription factors and miRNAs), which could potentially control relevant transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms. Considering the predominant expression of LGALS16 in placenta, I examined the expression, regulation, and function of LGALS16 in BeWo and JEG-3 cell lines representing in vitro models of trophoblast differentiation. In both models, LGALS16 was significantly upregulated in parallel with human chorionic gonadotropin beta (CGB) during trophoblastic differentiation induced by 8-Br-cAMP. Inhibition of p38 MAPK and Epac significantly altered LGALS16 expression during differentiation, while modulation of O-GlcNAc homeostasis failed to change LGALS16 and CGB expression. Lastly, CRISPR/Cas9 LGALS16 knockouts suppressed expression of CGB. These findings suggest that LGALS16 may play a role in trophoblastic differentiation through p38 MAPK and Epac signaling pathways.