Skip to main content
Articles/Developmental Biology/Plac1 Ablation Disrupts Signaling Pathways Essential for Prenatal Development an
Research Article·Developmental Biology

Plac1 Ablation Disrupts Signaling Pathways Essential for Prenatal Development and Induces a Preeclampsia-Associated Transcriptomic Signature

1University of South Florida, Tampa, United StatesR·2National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, United StatesR
Published 5 May 2026·Open Access

Abstract

Plac1 is an X-linked gene essential for placental and embryonic development. A knockout (KO) mouse model was used to identify Plac1-regulated gene expression at E16.5 and E18.5 using gene expression microarray. Genes exhibiting at least 1.5-fold change in expression and FDR < .05 were considered significant. At E16.5, 717 genes were downregulated and 798 were upregulated in male KO placentas versus wild type (WT), whereas at E18.5, 1122 genes were downregulated and 1149 were upregulated. GO, KEGG, and IPA analyses revealed downregulated genes were enriched for Rho GTPase-mediated and actin-cytoskeleton based processes that transmit extracellular cues through canonical signaling pathways, including Integrin, GPCR, Wnt, Notch, VEGF, BMP and TGF-beta, documented to impact trophoblast development, vasculogenesis, vascular tone, branching morphogenesis, and immunomodulation. Furthermore, a preeclampsia-associated transcriptomic signature was induced that strengthened over time. By contrast, upregulated genes reflected immune activation and adaptations to oxidative stress resulting from impaired placental function. These findings indicate that Plac1 supports signaling required to maintain placental structure and regulatory function. Its absence disrupts essential regulatory processes and triggers cellular stress and immune activation, contributing to fetal growth restriction, increased risk for embryopathy and preeclampsia, consistent with the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) framework.

Plac1placental developmentRho GTPase signalingfetal growth restriction (FGR)birth defectscardiovascular diseasepreeclampsiabrain developmentDevelopmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)
Loading article...