探討SERT的調控機制與其對胎盤細胞入侵能力的影響

Abstract

Serotonin (5-HT) mediates a variety of physiological activities through serotonin receptors, including regulation of peristaltic reflex in gastrointestinal tract, control of mood, appetite and sleep. In addition, maternal 5-HT plays a crucial role for fetal development. Therefore, the regulation of fetal access to maternal 5-HT becomes an important issue to study. Serotonin transporter (SERT) has been reported to be responsible for the uptake of 5-HT and is highly expressed in placental tissues. In this study, we used ChIP-chip analysis to identify GCM1 as a SERT regulator. GCM1 is a placenta-specific transcription factor, regulating trophoblast differentiation and function during placentation. We found out that GCM1 will up-regulate the expression of SERT and enhance the 5-HT uptake in JAR cells. Furthermore, we discovered that SERT regulates the invasion of JAR and BeWo cells. Detection of SERT expression in chorionic villi and EVTs by immunohistochemical analysis suggested that SERT not only has a transport function in chorionic villi, but also involves in EVT invasion. In conclusion, we propose the regulation of SERT by GCM1 and a bifunctional role of SERT in 5-HT transport and trophoblast invasion.