Evolutionary perspectives into placental biology and disease

Chuong, Edward B.; Hannibal, Roberta L.; Green, Sherril L.; Baker, Julie C.

doi:10.1016/j.atg.2013.07.001

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…While neither CTTN nor PPFIA1 have been implicated in sPTB, they are both linked to cell adhesion and there is evidence that decreased adherence of maternal and fetal membrane layers is involved in parturition 87 . The accelerated evolution associated with variants in this region is also consistent with the rapid diversification of the placenta within eutherians 88–90 . While the proteins CTTN and PPFIA1 are highly conserved across mammals, the accelerated evolution detected in association with rs1061328 may be linked to the functionally important and diverse splice variants of both proteins 74,91 .…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 69%

Accounting for diverse evolutionary forces reveals the mosaic nature of selection on genomic regions associated with human preterm birth

LaBella

Abraham

Pichkar

et al. 2019

Preprint

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35Human pregnancy requires the coordinated function of multiple tissues in both mother and fetus and has 36 evolved in concert with major human adaptations. As a result, pregnancy-associated phenotypes and 37 related disorders are genetically complex and have likely been sculpted by diverse evolutionary forces. 38 However, there is no framework to comprehensively evaluate how these traits evolved or to explore the 39 relationship of evolutionary signatures on trait-associated genetic variants to molecular function. Here we 40develop an approach to test for signatures of diverse evolutionary forces, including multiple types of 41 selection, and apply it to genomic regions associated with spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB), a complex 42 disorder of global health concern. We find that sPTB-associated regions harbor diverse evolutionary 43 signatures including evolutionary sequence conservation (consistent with the action of negative selection), 44 excess population differentiation (local adaptation), accelerated evolution (positive selection), and 45 balanced polymorphism (balancing selection). Furthermore, these genomic regions show diverse 46 functional characteristics which enables us to use evolutionary and molecular lines of evidence to develop 47 54Mammalian pregnancy requires the coordination of multiple maternal and fetal tissues 1,2 and extensive 55 modulation of the maternal immune system so that the genetically distinct fetus is not immunologically 56 rejected 3 . Given this context, pregnancy-related phenotypes and disorders are likely to have experienced 57 diverse selective pressures. This is particularly likely on the human lineage where pregnancy has been 58 shaped by unique human adaptations such as bipedality and enlarged brain size 4-8 . One major disorder of 59 pregnancy is preterm birth (PTB), a complex multifactorial syndrome 9 that affects 10% of pregnancies in 60 the United States and more than 15 million pregnancies worldwide each year 10,11 . PTB leads to increased 61 infant mortality rates and significant short-and long-term morbidity [11][12][13][14] . Risk for PTB varies 62 substantially with race, environment, comorbidities, and genetic factors 15 . PTB is broadly classified into 63 iatrogenic PTB, when it is associated with medical conditions such as preeclampsia (PE) or intrauterine 64 growth restriction (IUGR), and spontaneous PTB (sPTB), which occurs in the absence of preexisting 65 medical conditions or is initiated by preterm premature rupture of membranes [16][17][18][19] . The biological 66 pathways contributing to sPTB remain poorly understood 9 , but diverse lines of evidence suggest that 67 maternal genetic variation is an important contributor 20-24 . 68The complexity of human pregnancy and association with unique human adaptations raise the hypothesis 69 that genetic variants associated with birth timing and sPTB have been shaped by diverse evolutionary 70 forces. Consistent with this hypothesis, several immune genes involved in pregnancy have signatures of 71 recent purifyin...

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 69%

Accounting for diverse evolutionary forces reveals the mosaic nature of selection on genomic regions associated with human preterm birth

LaBella

Abraham

Pichkar

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The rapid evolution of the placenta complicates the use of non‐human animals to model human pregnancy . The placental lactogens provide a special example of this problem .…”

Section: β‐Cell Compensation In Mice and Womenmentioning

confidence: 99%

β‐Cell adaptation in pregnancy

Baeyens

Hindi

Sorenson

et al. 2016

Diabetes Obesity Metabolism

179

155

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Pregnancy in placental mammals places unique demands on the insulin-producing β-cells in the pancreatic islets of Langerhans. The pancreas anticipates the increase in insulin resistance that occurs late in pregnancy by increasing β-cell numbers and function earlier in pregnancy. In rodents, this β-cell expansion depends on secreted placental lactogens that signal through to the prolactin receptor. Then at the end of pregnancy, the β-cell population contracts back to its pre-pregnancy size. In the current review we focus on how glucose metabolism changes during pregnancy, how β-cells anticipate these changes through their response to lactogens, and what molecular mechanisms guide the adaptive compensation. In addition, we summarize current knowledge of β-cell adaptation during human pregnancy and what happens when adaptation fails and gestational diabetes ensues. A better understanding of human β-cell adaptation to pregnancy would benefit efforts to predict, prevent and treat gestational diabetes.

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“…Varied terminology has been applied to this condition; however, recent guidelines suggested that placenta accreta spectrum (PAS), which includes accreta, increta, and percreta (defined below), be used going forward [ 2 ]. The condition is unique to human pregnancy with no animal correlate reported in the literature [ 3 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Placenta Accreta Spectrum: A Review of Pathology, Molecular Biology, and Biomarkers

et al. 2018

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Background. Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) is a condition of abnormal placental invasion encompassing placenta accreta, increta, and percreta and is a major cause of severe maternal morbidity and mortality. The diagnosis of a PAS is made on the basis of histopathologic examination and characterised by an absence of decidua and chorionic villi are seen to directly adjacent to myometrial fibres. The underlying molecular biology of PAS is a complex process that requires further research; for ease, we have divided these processes into angiogenesis, proliferation, and inflammation/invasion. A number of diagnostic serum biomarkers have been investigated in PAS, including human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A), and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). They have shown variable reliability and variability of measurement depending on gestational age at sampling. At present, a sensitive serum biomarker for invasive placentation remains elusive. In summary, there are a limited number of studies that have contributed to our understanding of the molecular biology of PAS, and additional biomarkers are needed to aid diagnosis and disease stratification.

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Evolutionary perspectives into placental biology and disease

Cited by 12 publications

References 84 publications

Accounting for diverse evolutionary forces reveals the mosaic nature of selection on genomic regions associated with human preterm birth

Accounting for diverse evolutionary forces reveals the mosaic nature of selection on genomic regions associated with human preterm birth

β‐Cell adaptation in pregnancy

Placenta Accreta Spectrum: A Review of Pathology, Molecular Biology, and Biomarkers

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