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Raja Xavier JP, Okumura T, Apweiler M, Chacko NA, Singh Y, Brucker SY, Takeda S, Lang F, Salker MS. Placental growth factor mediates pathological uterine angiogenesis by activating the NFAT5-SGK1 signaling axis in the endometrium: implications for preeclampsia development. Biol Res 2024; 57:55. [PMID: 39152497 PMCID: PMC11330076 DOI: 10.1186/s40659-024-00526-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 08/19/2024] Open
Abstract
After menstruation the uterine spiral arteries are repaired through angiogenesis. This process is tightly regulated by the paracrine communication between endometrial stromal cells (EnSCs) and endothelial cells. Any molecular aberration in these processes can lead to complications in pregnancy including miscarriage or preeclampsia (PE). Placental growth factor (PlGF) is a known contributing factor for pathological angiogenesis but the mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated whether PlGF contributes to pathological uterine angiogenesis by disrupting EnSCs and endothelial paracrine communication. We observed that PlGF mediates a tonicity-independent activation of nuclear factor of activated T cells 5 (NFAT5) in EnSCs. NFAT5 activated downstream targets including SGK1, HIF-1α and VEGF-A. In depth characterization of PlGF - conditioned medium (CM) from EnSCs using mass spectrometry and ELISA methods revealed low VEGF-A and an abundance of extracellular matrix organization associated proteins. Secreted factors in PlGF-CM impeded normal angiogenic cues in endothelial cells (HUVECs) by downregulating Notch-VEGF signaling. Interestingly, PlGF-CM failed to support human placental (BeWo) cell invasion through HUVEC monolayer. Inhibition of SGK1 in EnSCs improved angiogenic effects in HUVECs and promoted BeWo invasion, revealing SGK1 as a key intermediate player modulating PlGF mediated anti-angiogenic signaling. Taken together, perturbed PlGF-NFAT5-SGK1 signaling in the endometrium can contribute to pathological uterine angiogenesis by negatively regulating EnSCs-endothelial crosstalk resulting in poor quality vessels in the uterine microenvironment. Taken together the signaling may impact on normal trophoblast invasion and thus placentation and, may be associated with an increased risk of complications such as PE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janet P Raja Xavier
- Department of Women's Health, University of Tübingen, 72076, Calwerstraße 7/6, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Toshiyuki Okumura
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Melina Apweiler
- Department of Women's Health, University of Tübingen, 72076, Calwerstraße 7/6, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nirzari A Chacko
- Department of Women's Health, University of Tübingen, 72076, Calwerstraße 7/6, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Yogesh Singh
- Department of Women's Health, University of Tübingen, 72076, Calwerstraße 7/6, Tübingen, Germany
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Sara Y Brucker
- Department of Women's Health, University of Tübingen, 72076, Calwerstraße 7/6, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Satoru Takeda
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Florian Lang
- Department of Physiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Madhuri S Salker
- Department of Women's Health, University of Tübingen, 72076, Calwerstraße 7/6, Tübingen, Germany.
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Okumura T, Raja Xavier JP, Pasternak J, Yang Z, Hang C, Nosirov B, Singh Y, Admard J, Brucker SY, Kommoss S, Takeda S, Staebler A, Lang F, Salker MS. Rel Family Transcription Factor NFAT5 Upregulates COX2 via HIF-1α Activity in Ishikawa and HEC1a Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:3666. [PMID: 38612478 PMCID: PMC11012216 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25073666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Nuclear factor of activated T cells 5 (NFAT5) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2; PTGS2) both participate in diverse pathologies including cancer progression. However, the biological role of the NFAT5-COX2 signaling pathway in human endometrial cancer has remained elusive. The present study explored whether NFAT5 is expressed in endometrial tumors and if NFAT5 participates in cancer progression. To gain insights into the underlying mechanisms, NFAT5 protein abundance in endometrial cancer tissue was visualized by immunohistochemistry and endometrial cancer cells (Ishikawa and HEC1a) were transfected with NFAT5 or with an empty plasmid. As a result, NFAT5 expression is more abundant in high-grade than in low-grade endometrial cancer tissue. RNA sequencing analysis of NFAT5 overexpression in Ishikawa cells upregulated 37 genes and downregulated 20 genes. Genes affected included cyclooxygenase 2 and hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF1A). NFAT5 transfection and/or treatment with HIF-1α stabilizer exerted a strong stimulating effect on HIF-1α promoter activity as well as COX2 expression level and prostaglandin E2 receptor (PGE2) levels. Our findings suggest that activation of NFAT5-HIF-1α-COX2 axis could promote endometrial cancer progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshiyuki Okumura
- Department of Women’s Health, Tübingen University Hospital, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.O.); (J.P.R.X.); (J.P.); (C.H.); (Y.S.); (S.Y.B.); (S.K.)
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan;
| | - Janet P. Raja Xavier
- Department of Women’s Health, Tübingen University Hospital, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.O.); (J.P.R.X.); (J.P.); (C.H.); (Y.S.); (S.Y.B.); (S.K.)
| | - Jana Pasternak
- Department of Women’s Health, Tübingen University Hospital, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.O.); (J.P.R.X.); (J.P.); (C.H.); (Y.S.); (S.Y.B.); (S.K.)
| | - Zhiqi Yang
- Department of Women’s Health, Tübingen University Hospital, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.O.); (J.P.R.X.); (J.P.); (C.H.); (Y.S.); (S.Y.B.); (S.K.)
| | - Cao Hang
- Department of Women’s Health, Tübingen University Hospital, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.O.); (J.P.R.X.); (J.P.); (C.H.); (Y.S.); (S.Y.B.); (S.K.)
| | - Bakhtiyor Nosirov
- Department of Cancer Research, Luxembourg Institute of Health, L-1210 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - Yogesh Singh
- Department of Women’s Health, Tübingen University Hospital, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.O.); (J.P.R.X.); (J.P.); (C.H.); (Y.S.); (S.Y.B.); (S.K.)
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, Eberhard Karls University, D-72074 Tübingen, Germany;
| | - Jakob Admard
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, Eberhard Karls University, D-72074 Tübingen, Germany;
| | - Sara Y. Brucker
- Department of Women’s Health, Tübingen University Hospital, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.O.); (J.P.R.X.); (J.P.); (C.H.); (Y.S.); (S.Y.B.); (S.K.)
| | - Stefan Kommoss
- Department of Women’s Health, Tübingen University Hospital, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.O.); (J.P.R.X.); (J.P.); (C.H.); (Y.S.); (S.Y.B.); (S.K.)
| | - Satoru Takeda
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan;
| | - Annette Staebler
- Institute of Pathology, Eberhard Karls University, D-72074 Tübingen, Germany;
| | - Florian Lang
- Institute of Physiology, Eberhard Karls University, D-72074 Tübingen, Germany;
| | - Madhuri S. Salker
- Department of Women’s Health, Tübingen University Hospital, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.O.); (J.P.R.X.); (J.P.); (C.H.); (Y.S.); (S.Y.B.); (S.K.)
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