Leptin is involved in survival and immunomodulation of placental cells. Regulation of its expression

TORO, A; GAMBINO, Y; MAYMÓ, J; BARRIENTOS, G; PEREZ-PEREZ, A; MASKIN, B; BLOIS, SM; CALVO, JC; SÁNCHEZ-MARGALET, V; VARONE, CL

Congreso; V Latin American Symposium on Maternal-Fetal Interaction and Placenta; 2013

Latin American Association for Maternal-Fetal Interaction and Placenta

Background: Leptin is produced by placenta and has many roles as an autocrine hormone. We have previously demonstrated that leptin promotes proliferation and survival of trophoblastic cells. In the present work we aimed to study the mechanisms that mediate the antiapoptotic effect of leptin in placenta. We determined whether leptin modulates HLA-G isoforms expression on placental cells, and also studied the regulation of transcriptional leptin expression. Methods: BeWo and Swan cells, cultured under standard conditions, as well as human placenta explants were used. Western blot, qRT-PCR and transfection assays with reporter constructs and expression vectors were carried out. All procedures were approved by ethical review committee at the A Posadas National Hospital.Results: Leptin reduced the expression of p53, a key regulator of cell cycle, involving MAPK signaling pathway. Leptin also stimulated the expression of HLA-G1 on BeWo and placental explants. Estradiol-induced leptin expression is modulated by CREB, NFB, Sp1 and AP1 transcription factors. The alternative Epac/cAMP pathway and the MAPK pathway mediate hCG induction of leptin expression in placental cells Conclusions: All these findings suggest that leptin expression is tightly regulated. Our results support the importance of leptin in the biology of reproduction.