benzyloxycarbonylleucyl-leucyl-leucine-aldehyde and Choriocarcinoma

Placental hypoxia has been implicated in pregnancy pathologies, including fetal growth restriction and preeclampsia; however, the mechanism by which the trophoblast cell responds to hypoxia has not been adequately explored. Glucose transport, a process crucial to fetoplacental growth, is upregulated by hypoxia in a number of cell types. We investigated the effects of hypoxia on the regulation of trophoblast glucose transporter (GLUT) expression and activity in BeWo choriocarcinoma cells, a trophoblast cell model, and human placental villous tissue explants. GLUT1 expression in BeWo cells was upregulated by the hypoxia-inducing chemical agents desferroxamine and cobalt chloride. Reductions in oxygen tension resulted in dose-dependent increases in GLUT1 and GLUT3 expression. Exposure of cells to hypoxic conditions also resulted in an increase in transepithelial glucose transport. A role for hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1 was suggested by the increase in HIF-1alpha as a result of hypoxia and by the increase in GLUT1 expression following treatment of BeWo with MG-132, a proteasomal inhibitor that increases HIF-1 levels. The function of HIF-1 was confirmed in experiments where the hypoxic upregulation of GLUT1 and GLUT3 was inhibited by antisense HIF-1alpha. In contrast to BeWo cells, hypoxia produced minimal increases in GLUT1 expression in explants; however, treatment with MG-132 did upregulate syncytial basal membrane GLUT1. Our results show that GLUTs are upregulated by hypoxia via a HIF-1-mediated pathway in trophoblast cells and suggest that the GLUT response to hypoxia in vivo will be determined not only by low oxygen tension but also by other factors that modulate HIF-1 levels.

Topics: Actins; Cell Hypoxia; Cell Line, Tumor; Choriocarcinoma; Chorionic Villi; Cobalt; Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors; Deferoxamine; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Female; Glucose; Glucose Transporter Type 1; Glucose Transporter Type 3; Humans; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; Leupeptins; Oligonucleotides, Antisense; Pregnancy; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; Receptors, Transferrin; Time Factors; Tissue Culture Techniques; Trophoblasts; Up-Regulation

HLA-G primary transcript is alternatively spliced into a number of mRNAs. In addition to full length HLA-G1 protein isoform these mRNAs might also encode truncated HLA-G protein isoforms lacking one or two extracellular domains. Whereas HLA-G1 protein isoform is regularly identified, truncated HLAG protein isoforms are not detected even if all alternative spliced mRNAs are present in cells. The absence of entire domain(s) renders the truncated HLA-G protein isoforms incapable of binding peptide and beta2-microglobulin. These features of truncated HLA-G protein isoforms may result in their rapid degradation by proteasomes. Here we show that despite the presence of all alternatively spliced HLA-G transcripts in JEG-3 cells pretreated with proteasome inhibitors only a full length HLA-G1 protein isoform was regularly detected. Interestingly, immunoblot analysis showed slight increase of HLA-G1 protein in cells pretreated with proteasome inhibitors, although the expression of HLA-G1 transcript was basically not affected. Expression of HLA-G3 transcript increased in JEG-3 cells pre-incubated with LLL, however, neither HLA-G3 nor other HLA-G short protein isoform was regularly detected. In K562 transfectants proteasome inhibitor LLL greatly enhanced expression of the HLA-G1 and -G2 transcripts as well as corresponding protein isoforms. Flow cytometry analysis showed that in cells pre-treated with proteasome inhibitors cell surface expression of HLA-G1 protein decreased but the quantity of intracellularly localized HLA-G antigens increased. Altogether our results suggest that truncated HLA-G proteins isoforms are not detected in JEG-3 cells as a result of their instability and the low translation efficiency of truncated HLA-G transcripts.

Topics: Choriocarcinoma; Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors; Flow Cytometry; Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; HLA Antigens; HLA-G Antigens; Humans; K562 Cells; Leupeptins; Protein Isoforms; RNA, Messenger; Tumor Cells, Cultured