TGFβ1 Restores Energy Homeostasis of Human Trophoblast Cells Under Hyperglycemia In Vitro by Inducing PPARγ Expression, AMPK Activation, and HIF1α Degradation
Elevated glucose levels at the fetal–maternal interface are associated with placental trophoblast dysfunction and increased incidence of pregnancy complications. Trophoblast cells predominantly utilize glucose as an energy source, metabolizing it through glycolysis in the cytoplasm and oxidative res...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Nihad Khiat Julie Girouard Emmanuelle Stella Kana Tsapi Cathy Vaillancourt Céline Van Themsche Carlos Reyes-Moreno |
| author_facet | Nihad Khiat Julie Girouard Emmanuelle Stella Kana Tsapi Cathy Vaillancourt Céline Van Themsche Carlos Reyes-Moreno |
| author_sort | Nihad Khiat |
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| description | Elevated glucose levels at the fetal–maternal interface are associated with placental trophoblast dysfunction and increased incidence of pregnancy complications. Trophoblast cells predominantly utilize glucose as an energy source, metabolizing it through glycolysis in the cytoplasm and oxidative respiration in the mitochondria to produce ATP. The TGFβ1/SMAD2 signaling pathway and the transcription factors PPARγ, HIF1α, and AMPK are key regulators of cell metabolism and are known to play critical roles in extravillous trophoblast cell differentiation and function. While HIF1α promotes glycolysis over mitochondrial respiration, PPARγ and AMPK encourage the opposite. However, the interplay between TGFβ1 and these energy-sensing regulators in trophoblast cell glucose metabolism remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether and how TGFβ1 regulates energy metabolism in trophoblast cells exposed to normal and high glucose conditions. The trophoblast JEG-3 cells were incubated in normal (5 mM) and high (25 mM) glucose conditions for 24 h in the absence and the presence of TGFβ1. The protein expression levels of phosphor (p)-SMAD2, GLUT1/3, HIF1α, PPARγ, p-AMPK, and specific OXPHOS protein subunits were determined by western blotting, and ATP and lactate production by bioluminescent assay kits. JEG-3 cells exposed to 25 mM glucose decreased ATP production but did not affect lactate production. These changes led to a reduction in the expression levels of GLUT1/3, mitochondrial respiratory chain proteins, and PPARγ, coinciding with an increase in HIF1α expression. Conversely, TGFβ1 treatment at 25 mM glucose reduced HIF1α expression while enhancing the expression levels of GLUT1/3, PPARγ, p-AMPK, and mitochondrial respiratory chain proteins, thereby rejuvenating ATP production. Our findings reveal that high glucose conditions disrupt cellular glucose metabolism in trophoblast cells by perturbing mitochondrial oxidative respiration and decreasing ATP production. Treatment with TGFβ1 appears to counteract this trend, probably by enhancing both glycolytic and mitochondrial metabolism, suggesting a potential regulatory role of TGFβ1 in placental trophoblast cell glucose metabolism. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2073-4409 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| series | Cells |
| spelling | doaj-art-0b8d0cf392a64154906c3b1fa479058c2025-01-10T13:16:21ZengMDPI AGCells2073-44092025-01-011414510.3390/cells14010045TGFβ1 Restores Energy Homeostasis of Human Trophoblast Cells Under Hyperglycemia In Vitro by Inducing PPARγ Expression, AMPK Activation, and HIF1α DegradationNihad Khiat0Julie Girouard1Emmanuelle Stella Kana Tsapi2Cathy Vaillancourt3Céline Van Themsche4Carlos Reyes-Moreno5Groupe de Recherche en Signalisation Cellulaire (GRSC), Département de Biologie Médicale, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 3351 Boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, CanadaGroupe de Recherche en Signalisation Cellulaire (GRSC), Département de Biologie Médicale, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 3351 Boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, CanadaGroupe de Recherche en Signalisation Cellulaire (GRSC), Département de Biologie Médicale, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 3351 Boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, CanadaCentre de Recherche Interuniversitaire en Reproduction et Développement-Réseau Québécois en Reproduction (CIRD-RQR), Université de Montréal, St-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 2M2, CanadaGroupe de Recherche en Signalisation Cellulaire (GRSC), Département de Biologie Médicale, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 3351 Boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, CanadaGroupe de Recherche en Signalisation Cellulaire (GRSC), Département de Biologie Médicale, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 3351 Boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, CanadaElevated glucose levels at the fetal–maternal interface are associated with placental trophoblast dysfunction and increased incidence of pregnancy complications. Trophoblast cells predominantly utilize glucose as an energy source, metabolizing it through glycolysis in the cytoplasm and oxidative respiration in the mitochondria to produce ATP. The TGFβ1/SMAD2 signaling pathway and the transcription factors PPARγ, HIF1α, and AMPK are key regulators of cell metabolism and are known to play critical roles in extravillous trophoblast cell differentiation and function. While HIF1α promotes glycolysis over mitochondrial respiration, PPARγ and AMPK encourage the opposite. However, the interplay between TGFβ1 and these energy-sensing regulators in trophoblast cell glucose metabolism remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether and how TGFβ1 regulates energy metabolism in trophoblast cells exposed to normal and high glucose conditions. The trophoblast JEG-3 cells were incubated in normal (5 mM) and high (25 mM) glucose conditions for 24 h in the absence and the presence of TGFβ1. The protein expression levels of phosphor (p)-SMAD2, GLUT1/3, HIF1α, PPARγ, p-AMPK, and specific OXPHOS protein subunits were determined by western blotting, and ATP and lactate production by bioluminescent assay kits. JEG-3 cells exposed to 25 mM glucose decreased ATP production but did not affect lactate production. These changes led to a reduction in the expression levels of GLUT1/3, mitochondrial respiratory chain proteins, and PPARγ, coinciding with an increase in HIF1α expression. Conversely, TGFβ1 treatment at 25 mM glucose reduced HIF1α expression while enhancing the expression levels of GLUT1/3, PPARγ, p-AMPK, and mitochondrial respiratory chain proteins, thereby rejuvenating ATP production. Our findings reveal that high glucose conditions disrupt cellular glucose metabolism in trophoblast cells by perturbing mitochondrial oxidative respiration and decreasing ATP production. Treatment with TGFβ1 appears to counteract this trend, probably by enhancing both glycolytic and mitochondrial metabolism, suggesting a potential regulatory role of TGFβ1 in placental trophoblast cell glucose metabolism.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/14/1/45adenosine triphosphatediabetesextra-villous trophoblastglucose metabolismglycolysishyper-glucose |
| spellingShingle | Nihad Khiat Julie Girouard Emmanuelle Stella Kana Tsapi Cathy Vaillancourt Céline Van Themsche Carlos Reyes-Moreno TGFβ1 Restores Energy Homeostasis of Human Trophoblast Cells Under Hyperglycemia In Vitro by Inducing PPARγ Expression, AMPK Activation, and HIF1α Degradation Cells adenosine triphosphate diabetes extra-villous trophoblast glucose metabolism glycolysis hyper-glucose |
| title | TGFβ1 Restores Energy Homeostasis of Human Trophoblast Cells Under Hyperglycemia In Vitro by Inducing PPARγ Expression, AMPK Activation, and HIF1α Degradation |
| title_full | TGFβ1 Restores Energy Homeostasis of Human Trophoblast Cells Under Hyperglycemia In Vitro by Inducing PPARγ Expression, AMPK Activation, and HIF1α Degradation |
| title_fullStr | TGFβ1 Restores Energy Homeostasis of Human Trophoblast Cells Under Hyperglycemia In Vitro by Inducing PPARγ Expression, AMPK Activation, and HIF1α Degradation |
| title_full_unstemmed | TGFβ1 Restores Energy Homeostasis of Human Trophoblast Cells Under Hyperglycemia In Vitro by Inducing PPARγ Expression, AMPK Activation, and HIF1α Degradation |
| title_short | TGFβ1 Restores Energy Homeostasis of Human Trophoblast Cells Under Hyperglycemia In Vitro by Inducing PPARγ Expression, AMPK Activation, and HIF1α Degradation |
| title_sort | tgfβ1 restores energy homeostasis of human trophoblast cells under hyperglycemia in vitro by inducing pparγ expression ampk activation and hif1α degradation |
| topic | adenosine triphosphate diabetes extra-villous trophoblast glucose metabolism glycolysis hyper-glucose |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/14/1/45 |
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