The human placenta exhibits a unique transcriptomic void
Sungsam Gong,
Francesca Gaccioli,
Irving L.M.H. Aye,
Giulia Avellino,
Emma Cook,
Andrew R.J. Lawson,
Luke M.R. Harvey,
Gordon C.S. Smith,
D. Stephen Charnock-Jones
Affiliations
Sungsam Gong
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Centre for Trophoblast Research (CTR), Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Francesca Gaccioli
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Centre for Trophoblast Research (CTR), Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Irving L.M.H. Aye
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Centre for Trophoblast Research (CTR), Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Giulia Avellino
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Centre for Trophoblast Research (CTR), Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Emma Cook
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Andrew R.J. Lawson
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK
Luke M.R. Harvey
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK
Gordon C.S. Smith
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Centre for Trophoblast Research (CTR), Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
D. Stephen Charnock-Jones
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Centre for Trophoblast Research (CTR), Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Corresponding author
Summary: The human placenta exhibits a unique genomic architecture with an unexpectedly high mutation burden and many uniquely expressed genes. The aim of this study is to identify transcripts that are uniquely absent or depleted in the placenta. Here, we show that 40 of 46 of the other organs have no selectively depleted transcripts and that, of the remaining six, the liver has the largest number, with 26. In contrast, the term placenta has 762 depleted transcripts. Gene Ontology analysis of this depleted set highlighted multiple pathways reflecting known unique elements of placental physiology. For example, transcripts associated with neuronal function are in the depleted set—as expected given the lack of placental innervation. However, this demonstrated overrepresentation of genes involved in mitochondrial function (p = 5.8 × 10−10), including PGC-1α, the master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis, and genes involved in polyamine metabolism (p = 2.1 × 10−4).
