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Fantone S, Ermini L, Piani F, Di Simone N, Barbaro G, Giannubilo SR, Gesuita R, Tossetta G, Marzioni D. Downregulation of argininosuccinate synthase 1 (ASS1) is associated with hypoxia in placental development. Hum Cell 2023; 36:1190-1198. [PMID: 36995581 DOI: 10.1007/s13577-023-00901-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
Argininosuccinate synthase (ASS1) is involved in nitric oxide production, which has a key role in placental development improving pregnancy outcomes. Syncytiotrophoblast and extravillous trophoblast differentiations are milestones of placental development and their impairment can cause pathologies, such as preeclampsia (PE) and fetal growth restriction (FGR). Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting were used to localize and quantify ASS1 in first trimester (8.2 ± 1.8 weeks), third trimester (38.6 ± 1.1 weeks), and PE (36.3 ± 1.5 weeks) placentas. In addition, cell cultures were used to evaluate ASS1 expression under hypoxic conditions and the syncytialization process. Our data showed that ASS1 is localized in the villous cytotrophoblast of first trimester, third trimester, and PE placentas, while the villous cytotrophoblast adjacent to the extravillous trophoblast of cell columns as well as the extravillous trophoblast were negative for ASS1 in first trimester placentas. In addition, ASS1 was decreased in third trimester compared to the first trimester placentas (p = 0.003) and no differences were detected between third trimester and PE placentas. Moreover, ASS1 expression was decreased in hypoxic conditions and syncytialized cells compared to those not syncytialized. In conclusion, we suggest that the expression of ASS1 in villous cytotrophoblast is related to maintaining proliferative phenotype, while ASS1 absence may be involved in promoting the differentiation of villous cytotrophoblast in extravillous cytotrophoblast of cell columns in first trimester placentas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Fantone
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60126, Ancona, Italy
| | - Leonardo Ermini
- Department of Life Science, University of Siena, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | - Federica Piani
- Cardiovascular Internal Medicine, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40128, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, 40138, Bologna, Italy
| | - Nicoletta Di Simone
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, 20072, Milan, Italy
- IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, 20089, Milan, Italy
| | - Greta Barbaro
- Istituto di Clinica Ostetrica e Ginecologica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Raffaele Giannubilo
- Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Salesi Hospital, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria, 60126, Ancona, Italy
| | - Rosaria Gesuita
- Centre of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60126, Ancona, Italy
| | - Giovanni Tossetta
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60126, Ancona, Italy.
- Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Salesi Hospital, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria, 60126, Ancona, Italy.
| | - Daniela Marzioni
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60126, Ancona, Italy
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Tossetta G, Fantone S, Gesuita R, Di Renzo GC, Meyyazhagan A, Tersigni C, Scambia G, Di Simone N, Marzioni D. HtrA1 in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Possible Biomarker? Diagnostics (Basel) 2022; 12:2705. [PMID: 36359548 PMCID: PMC9689498 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics12112705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Revised: 10/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The high-temperature requirement A 1 (HtrA1) is a multidomain secretory protein with serine-protease activity, expressed in many tissues, including placenta, where its expression is higher in the first trimester, suggesting an association of this serine protease in early phases of human placenta development. In this study, we evaluated maternal serum HtrA1 levels in the first and third trimester of gestation. In particular, we evaluated a possible role of HtrA1 as an early marker of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in the first trimester of gestation. METHODS We evaluated HtrA1 serum levels in the third trimester (36-40 weeks) in normal pregnancies (n = 20) and GDM pregnancies (n = 20) by using ELISA analysis. Secondly, we performed the same analysis by using the first trimester sera (10-12 weeks) of healthy pregnant women that will develop a normal pregnancy (n = 210) or GDM (n = 28) during pregnancy. RESULTS We found that HtrA1 serum levels in the third trimester were higher in pregnancies complicated by GDM. Interestingly, higher HtrA1 serum levels were also found in the first trimester in women developing GDM later during the second-third trimester. No significant differences in terms of maternal age and gestational age were found between cases and controls. Women with GDM shown significantly higher pre-pregnancy BMI values compared to controls. Moreover, the probability of GDM occurrence significantly increased with increasing HtrA1 levels and BMI values. The ROC curve showed a good accuracy in predicting GDM, with an AUC of 0.74 (95%CI: 0.64-0.92). CONCLUSIONS These results suggest an important role of HtrA1 as an early predictive marker of GDM in the first trimester of gestation, showing a significative clinical relevance for prevention of this disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Tossetta
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60126 Ancona, Italy
- Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Salesi Hospital, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria, 60126 Ancona, Italy
| | - Sonia Fantone
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60126 Ancona, Italy
| | - Rosaria Gesuita
- Centre of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60126 Ancona, Italy
| | - Gian Carlo Di Renzo
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, IE Sechenov First State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
- Wayne State University Medical School and Perinatal Research Branch, NIH-NICHD, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
| | - Arun Meyyazhagan
- Wayne State University Medical School and Perinatal Research Branch, NIH-NICHD, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
| | - Chiara Tersigni
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute della Donna, del Bambino e di Sanità Pubblica, 00168 Roma, Italy
- Istituto di Clinica Ostetrica e Ginecologica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Roma, Italy
| | - Giovanni Scambia
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute della Donna, del Bambino e di Sanità Pubblica, 00168 Roma, Italy
- Istituto di Clinica Ostetrica e Ginecologica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Roma, Italy
| | - Nicoletta Di Simone
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, 20072 Milan, Italy
- IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, 20089 Milan, Italy
| | - Daniela Marzioni
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60126 Ancona, Italy
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Metabolic and Cellular Compartments of Acetyl-CoA in the Healthy and Diseased Brain. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms231710073. [PMID: 36077475 PMCID: PMC9456256 DOI: 10.3390/ijms231710073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The human brain is characterised by the most diverse morphological, metabolic and functional structure among all body tissues. This is due to the existence of diverse neurons secreting various neurotransmitters and mutually modulating their own activity through thousands of pre- and postsynaptic interconnections in each neuron. Astroglial, microglial and oligodendroglial cells and neurons reciprocally regulate the metabolism of key energy substrates, thereby exerting several neuroprotective, neurotoxic and regulatory effects on neuronal viability and neurotransmitter functions. Maintenance of the pool of mitochondrial acetyl-CoA derived from glycolytic glucose metabolism is a key factor for neuronal survival. Thus, acetyl-CoA is regarded as a direct energy precursor through the TCA cycle and respiratory chain, thereby affecting brain cell viability. It is also used for hundreds of acetylation reactions, including N-acetyl aspartate synthesis in neuronal mitochondria, acetylcholine synthesis in cholinergic neurons, as well as divergent acetylations of several proteins, peptides, histones and low-molecular-weight species in all cellular compartments. Therefore, acetyl-CoA should be considered as the central point of metabolism maintaining equilibrium between anabolic and catabolic pathways in the brain. This review presents data supporting this thesis.
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