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bioRxiv · 10.1101/567362

Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals Regulatory Mechanism for Trophoblast Cell-Fate Divergence in Human Peri-Implantation Embryo

Lv, B.·An, Q.·Zeng, Q.·Lu, P.·Zhu, X.·Ji, Y.·Fan, G.·Xue, Z.
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Abstract

Multipotent trophoblasts undergo dynamic morphological movement and cellular differentiation after embryonic implantation to generate placenta. However, the mechanism controlling trophoblast development and differentiation during peri-implantation development remains elusive. In this study, we modeled human embryo peri-implantation development from blastocyst to early post-implantation stages by using an in vitro coculture system, and profiled the transcriptome of individual trophoblast cells from these embryos. We revealed the genetic networks regulating peri-implantation trophoblast development. While determining when trophoblast differentiation happens, our bioinformatic analysis identified T-box transcription factor 3 (TBX3) as a key regulator for the differentiation of cytotrophoblast into syncytiotrophoblast. The function of TBX3 in trophoblast differentiation is then validated by a loss-of-function experiment. In conclusion, our results provided a valuable resource to study the regulation of trophoblasts development and differentiation during human peri-implantation development.

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Lv, B., An, Q., Zeng, Q., Lu, P., Zhu, X., Ji, Y., Fan, G., Xue, Z.. 2019-03-04. Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals Regulatory Mechanism for Trophoblast Cell-Fate Divergence in Human Peri-Implantation Embryo. https://doi.org/10.1101/567362

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