The role of FAK signaling in early placental development and trophoblast lineage specification in human pregnancy.

The placenta serves as a vital interface for fetal-maternal exchange, relying on trophoblast differentiation for development. This process involves cytotrophoblasts (CTBs) transitioning into syncytiotrophoblasts (STBs) and extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs), driving placental maturation. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a key cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase, regulates cellular processes such as proliferation, survival, and signaling.

Characterization of methylation profile in biofluid cell-free DNA and identification of differentially methylated genes for phenotypic representations in Parkinson's disease.

Background: The potential biomarkers for Parkinson's Disease (PD) in blood circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) have been infrequently explored. This study aims to identify specific methylation markers in blood cfDNA that could aid in the diagnosis of PD.

Methods: A total of twenty patients with PD and nine healthy participants were recruited for this study.

TBX3 reciprocally controls key trophoblast lineage decisions in villi during human placenta development in the first trimester.

Human trophoblastic lineage development is intertwined with placental development and pregnancy outcomes, but the regulatory mechanisms underpinning this process remain inadequately understood. In this study, based on single-nuclei RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) analysis of the human early maternal-fetal interface, we compared the gene expression pattern of trophoblast at different developmental stages. Our findings reveal a predominant upregulation of TBX3 during the transition from villous cytotrophoblast (VCT) to syncytiotrophoblast (SCT), but downregulation of TBX3 as VCT progresses into extravillous trophoblast cells (EVT).