The effects of vitamin D are mediated through the vitamin D receptor (VDR), a predominantly nuclear receptor, expressed in numerous tissues including the placenta. VDR and the retinoid X receptor (RXR) form a dimer complex which binds to genomic vitamin D responsive elements located primarily in promoter regions and recruit cell-specific transcription factor complexes which regulate the expression of numerous genes. To investigate the role of VDR on regulating placental gene expression, mice heterozygous (+/−) for an ablated Vdr allele (C57Bl6 strain B6.129S4-VDRtm1Mbd/J, Jackson Laboratory) were mated to generate Vdr+/+, Vdr+/− and Vdr −/− fetuses and placental samples were collected at day 18.5 of pregnancy. RNA was isolated from placental tissue with global gene expression measured using Affymetrix Mouse Gene 2.1 ST Arrays to assess the effects of VDR on global gene expression in the placenta. All raw array data are deposited in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) under accession GSE61583.
