Aquaporins and Fetal Membranes From Diabetic Parturient Women: Expression Abnormalities and Regulation by Insulin

Abstract

Context: During pregnancy, aquaporins (AQPs) expressed in fetal membranes are essential for controlling the homeostasis of the amniotic volume, but their regulation by insulin was never explored in diabetic women. Objective:The aim of our study was to investigate the involvement of AQPs 1, 3, 8, and 9 expressed in fetal membranes in diabetic parturient women and the control of their expression by insulin. Design and Participants:From 129 fetal membranes in four populations (controls, type 1, type 2 [T2D], and gestational diabetes [GD]), we established an expression AQP profile. In a second step, the amnion was used to study the control of the expression and functions of AQPs 3 and 9 by insulin. Main Outcomes and Measures:The expression of transcripts and proteins of AQPs was studied by quantitative RT-PCR and ELISA. We analyzed the regulation by insulin of the expression of AQPs 3 and 9 in the amnion. A tritiated glycerol test enabled us to measure the impact of insulin on the functional characteristics. Using an inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, we analyzed the insulin intracellular signaling pathway. Results:The expression of AQP3 protein was significantly weaker in groups T2D and GD. In nondiabetic fetal membranes, we showed for the amnion (but not for the chorion) a significant repression by insulin of the transcriptional expression of AQPs 3 and 9, which was blocked by a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor. Conclusion:In fetal membranes, the repression of AQP3 protein expression and functions observed in vivo is allowed by the hyperinsulinism described in pregnant women with T2D or GD. (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 100: E1270 -E1279, 2015)

Aquaporin-9, Mediated by IGF2, Suppresses Liver Cancer Stem Cell Properties via Augmenting ROS/β-Catenin/FOXO3a Signaling

“…Recently, accumulating evidence supports IGF2 as a contributor to the maintenance of CSCs stemness [26][27][28]38,39]. It has been well established that IGF2 and proinsulin have homologous amino acid sequences, and AQP9 is reported negatively regulated by insulin [29,30,31]. Considering the factors described above, we speculate that IGF2 exerts an inhibitory effect on AQP9 and is related to LCSCs properties.…”

“…IGF2 and proinsulin have homologous amino acid sequences. AQP9 was successively demonstrated to be downregulated by insulin [29,30,31], prompting the question of whether AQP9 is regulated by IGF2 and then is associated with LCSCs to modulate its properties.…”

Cigarette Smoke Condensate Exposure Induces Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-Products (RAGE)-Dependent Sterile Inflammation in Amniotic Epithelial Cells

“…pAECs were cultivated under standard conditions (5% CO 2 ; 95% humidified air; 37 °C) in Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium F-12 nutrient mixture (DMEM-F12- GlutaMAX) supplemented with 10% FBS, 100 µg/mL/mL of streptomycin, 100 U/mL of ampicillin, and 25 µg/mL amphotericin B. As previously validated, the isolation of pAECs was conducted in three trypsinization steps (10, 20, and 30 min), followed by the scraping of the amnion [ 52 ]. Cells were filtered to remove the collagen, centrifuged for 5 min at 1000 rpm, and grown on culture dishes coated with collagen I (1/50 dilution in PBS 1X) in complete media.…”

Human Amnion Epithelial Cells (AECs) Respond to the FSL-1 Lipopeptide by Engaging the NLRP7 Inflammasome

“…Delivery products from non-pathological post-cesarean full-term births (37-39 weeks of gestation) were collected at "Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Estaing" (Clermont-Ferrand, France), and the AECs were prepared as previously described (60). Briefly, the amnion was separated from the choriodecidua by peeling and was then washed four times with 1X DPBS.…”