Antiphospholipid-exposed trophoblast-derived extracellular vesicles express elevated levels of TLR7/8-activating microRNAs and induce endometrial endothelial activation, in part, through TLR7.

Women with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) are at high risk for miscarriage and preeclampsia. Unlike pro-thrombotic systemic APS, obstetric APS is associated with insufficient placentation, as well as inflammation and vascular dysfunction at the maternal-fetal interface. Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) can target the placental trophoblast and induce inflammation. We reported that aPL trigger trophoblast cells to produce elevated levels of IL-8 through activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). Downstream of TLR4, we found this IL-8 response is mediated by a TLR8-activating microRNA (miR), miR-146a-3p, which is also released by the trophoblast via extracellular vesicles (EVs). Since endothelial dysfunction is a feature of obstetric APS, we sought to determine if other miRs that can activate the RNA sensors, TLR7 and/or TLR8, are released by the trophoblast via EVs after exposure to aPL, and if these EVs can activate human endometrial endothelial cells (HEECs). Using a human first trimester extravillous trophoblast cell line we found that aPL elevated their release of small EVs (<150 nm). These extracellular vesicles released from trophoblast cells exposed to aPL expressed elevated levels of TLR7/8-activating miR-21a and miR-29a, in addition to the previously reported miR-146a-3p. Extracellular vesicles from aPL-exposed human trophoblast cells triggered human endometrial endothelial cells to generate an inflammatory IL-8 response, in part through TLR7. This study highlights EVs as a mode of communication between the placenta and the maternal vasculature, as well as a potential role for TLR7/8-activating miRs in contributing to inflammation at the maternal-fetal interface in obstetric APS.

RNA Amplification Protocol Leads to Biased Polymerase Chain Reaction Results Especially for Low-Copy Transcripts of Human Bone Marrow-Derived Stromal Cells.

The amplification of RNA is becoming increasingly important, as often only limited amounts of cells are available for gene expression analysis. In this study, the gene expression profile of the 39 human homeobox (HOX) genes was analyzed in bone marrow-derived multipotent stromal cells (BM-MSCs) by reverse transcription (RT-) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). For further unlimited gene expression analysis, Whole Transcriptome Amplification (WTA) was used to amplify RNA from human BM-MSCs. However, WTA led to biased RT- and qPCR results, and even non-detectability of HOX transcripts compared to non-amplified BM-MSC samples which instead revealed transcription. It is important to note that the same RNA of the respective human BM-MSC line was used for normal cDNA synthesis by standard reverse transcription (non-amplified RT samples) and for cDNA synthesis by WTA (amplified WTA samples). On this account, the different RT- and qPCR results were unexpected applying WTA. The significantly reduced detection of HOX transcripts after WTA has been demonstrated for numerous BM-MSC lines (n = 26) by RT-PCR analysis. Furthermore, undetectable HOX transcripts meaning HOX transcripts of human BM-MSCs that were detected after normal cDNA synthesis, but were no longer detectable after WTA, were consistently observed by qPCR analysis. Finally, qPCR experiments revealed a possible explanation for the differences between amplified and non-amplified BM-MSC samples: an inverse correlation between the biased qPCR results and the low expression level of the respective HOX gene. The PCR analysis of high-copy transcripts like GAPDH or RPL13A revealed unchanged qPCR results after WTA compared to corresponding non-amplified BM-MSC samples. In contrast, WTA led to biased qPCR results for medium-copy HOX transcripts, and even non-detectability of low-copy HOX transcripts of human BM-MSCs resulting in false negative RT- and qPCR data applying WTA.

DNA damage response in neonatal and adult stromal cells compared with induced pluripotent stem cells.

UNLABELLED: Comprehensive analyses comparing individual DNA damage response (DDR) of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) with neonatal stromal cells with respect to their developmental age are limited. The imperative necessity of providing developmental age-matched cell sources for meaningful toxicological drug safety assessments in replacement of animal-based testing strategies is evident. Here, DDR after radiation or treatment with N-methyl-N-nitrosurea (MNU) was determined in iPSCs compared with neonatal and bone marrow stromal cells. Neonatal and adult stromal cells showed no significant morphologically detectable cytotoxicity following treatment with 1 Gy or 1 mM MNU, whereas iPSCs revealed a much higher sensitivity. Foci analyses revealed an effective DNA repair in stromal cell types and iPSCs, as reflected by a rapid formation and disappearance of phosphorylated ATM and γH2AX foci. Furthermore, quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses revealed the highest basic expression level of DDR and repair-associated genes in iPSCs, followed by neonatal stromal cells and adult stromal cells with the lowest expression levels. In addition, the influence of genotoxic stress prior to and during osteogenic differentiation of neonatal and adult stromal cells was analyzed applying common differentiation procedures. Experiments presented here suggest a developmental age-dependent basic expression level of genes involved in the processing of DNA damage. In addition a differentiation-dependent downregulation of repair genes was observed during osteogenesis. These results strongly support the requirement to provide adequate cell sources for toxicological in vitro drug testing strategies that match to the developmental age and differentiation status of the presumptive target cell of interest. SIGNIFICANCE: The results obtained in this study advance the understanding of DNA damage processing in human neonatal stromal cells as compared with adult stromal cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The data suggest developmental age-dependent differences in DNA damage repair capacity. In iPSCs (closest to embryonic stem cells), the highest expression level of DNA damage response and repair genes was found, followed by neonatal stromal cells and adult stromal cells with the lowest overall expression. In addition, a differentiation-dependent downregulation of repair capacity was observed during osteogenic differentiation in neonatal stromal cells. Notably, the impact of genotoxic stress on osteogenic differentiation depended on the time the genotoxic insult took place and, moreover, was agent-specific. These results strongly support the necessity of offering and establishing adequate cell sources for informative toxicological testing matching to the developmental age and differentiation status of the respective cell of interest.