Language
English
Publication Date
1-1-2023
Journal
Matrix Biology
DOI
10.1016/j.matbio.2022.11.004
PMID
36423736
Abstract
The extracellular matrix (ECM) in the endometrium plays a crucial role in mammalian pregnancy. We have shown that versican secreted from the endometrial epithelium promotes embryo implantation. Versican is a proteoglycan, a major player in the provisional matrix, and versikine, its N-terminal fragment cleaved by ADAMTS proteinases, serves as a bioactive molecule. Here, since versican expression in the placenta was dynamically altered in humans and mice, we investigated the role of versican in pregnancy using uterine-specific Vcan deletion mice (uKO mice) and ADAMTS-resistant versican expressing mice (V1R mice). uKO mice exhibited insufficient spiral artery dilation, followed by fetal growth restriction and maternal hypertension. Further analysis revealed impaired proliferation of tissue-resident natural killer cells required for spiral artery dilation. V1R mice showed the same results as the control, eliminating the involvement of versikine. Our results provide a new concept that versican, one factor of ECM, contributes to placentation and following fetal growth.
Keywords
Pregnancy, Humans, Female, Mice, Animals, Versicans, Dilatation, Uterus, Fetal Development, Arteries, Mammals
Published Open-Access
yes
Recommended Citation
Sagae, Yusuke; Horie, Akihito; Yanai, Akihiro; et al., "Versican Provides the Provisional Matrix for Uterine Spiral Artery Dilation and Fetal Growth" (2023). Faculty and Staff Publications. 4886.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/baylor_docs/4886
Included in
Health Services Research Commons, Medical Cell Biology Commons, Medical Molecular Biology Commons, Medical Specialties Commons, Microbiology Commons