The expression and post-transcriptional regulation of FSTL1 transcripts in placental trophoblasts

• FSTL1 is expressed in the human placenta, mainly in extravillous trophoblasts.
• Basal FSTL1 protein expression is low in villous trophoblasts, but is increased in hypoxic conditions.
• FSTL1 expression in trophoblasts is regulated by post-transcriptional mechanisms.
• There is no evidence of expression of the miR-198 passenger miRNA in trophoblasts, or for its effect on FSTL1 expression.

IntroductionFollistatin-like-1 (FSTL1) is a widely expressed secreted protein with diverse but poorly understood functions. Originally described as a pro-inflammatory molecule, it has recently been reported to play a role in signaling pathways that regulate development and homeostasis. Distinctively, FSTL1 harbors within its 3′-UTR the sequence encoding microRNA-198 (miR-198), shown to be inversely regulated relative to FSTL1 expression and to exhibit opposite actions on cellular processes such as cell migration. We sought to investigate the expression of FSTL1 and to assess its interplay with miR-198 in human trophoblasts.MethodsWe used a combination of northern blot analyses, quantitative PCR, small RNA sequencing, western blot and immunohistochemistry to characterize FSTL1 and miR-198 expression in placental trophoblasts. We also used reporter assays to examine the post-transcriptional regulation of FSTL1 and assess its putative regulation by miR-198.ResultsWe detected the expression of FSTL1 transcript in both the human extravillous trophoblast line HTR-8/SVneo and in primary term human villous trophoblasts. We also found that the expression of FSTL1 was largely restricted to extravillous trophoblasts. Hypoxia enhanced the expression of FSTL1 protein in cultured primary villous trophoblasts. Interestingly, we did not detect any evidence for expression or function of mature miR-198 in human trophoblasts.DiscussionOur data indicate that placental FSTL1 is expressed particularly in extravillous trophoblasts. We also found no evidence for placental expression of miR-198, or for its regulation of FSTL1, implying that the post-transcriptional regulation of FSTL1 by miR-198 is tissue specific.