Human placenta-derived Wnt-5a induces the expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 in CD133+CD34+-hematopoietic progenitor cells

Angiogenesis and vascular development are essential for fetal development and growth, whereby early pregnancy loss and other pregnancy-related pathologies have been linked to aberrant vascular development. As Wnt signalling has been suggested to play a role in the vascularization of chorionic villi, we investigated the expression of Wnt family members in trophoblasts and stromal cells isolated from chorionic villi of early placenta and the influence of Wnt signalling on CD133+CD34+-hematopoietic progenitor (CD133+CD34+) cells. Wnt-5a was expressed in human placental stromal cells and to a lesser extent in human trophoblast cells. rWnt-5a impeded migration and induced adhesion of CD133+CD34+ cells, in accordance with the expression of adhesion proteins, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). rWnt-5a-related regulation of the ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression were dependent on the release of Ca2+ and the activation of transcription factor – nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NF-AT). We propose that Wnt-5a is required during early placenta development to mediate adhesion and homing of CD133+CD34+ cells.