title: Insights into the mechanism of CXCL12-mediated signaling in trophoblast functions and placental angiogenesis.
abstract: The chemokine CXCL12 and its receptor CXCR4 are important signaling components required for human blastocyst implantation and the progression of pregnancy. Growing evidence indicates that the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis can regulate trophoblast function and uterine spiral artery remodeling, which plays a fundamental role in placentation and fetal outcome. The orphan receptor CXCR7 is also believed to partly regulate the function of the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis. Additionally, the CXCL12/CXCR4/CXCR7 axis can enhance the cross-talk between trophoblasts and decidual cells such as uterine natural killer cells and decidual stromal cells which are involved in regulation of trophoblast differentiation and invasion and placental angiogenesis. In addition, recent studies proved that CXCL12 expression is elevated in the placenta and mid-trimester amniotic fluid of pregnant women with preeclampsia, implying that dysregulation of CXCL12 plays a role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Further understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of CXCL12-mediated signaling in trophoblast functions and placental angiogenesis may help to design novel therapeutic approaches for pregnancy-associated diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tangdu Hospital, the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710038, China The First Student Brigade, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology, PLA Specialized Research Institute of Rheumatism & Immunity, Xi-jing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Xueyi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710038, China.
authors.forename: Yilin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurosciences, School of Basic Medical Sciences, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tangdu Hospital, the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710038, China.
authors.forename: Yingli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lian
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China xiaomingzhu1981@hotmail.com hantao_16@163.com gouwenli@163.com.
authors.forename: Wenli
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gou
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Hainan Branch of PLA General Hospital, Sanya 572013, China xiaomingzhu1981@hotmail.com hantao_16@163.com gouwenli@163.com.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tangdu Hospital, the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710038, China xiaomingzhu1981@hotmail.com hantao_16@163.com gouwenli@163.com.
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D054377:Chemokine CXCL12 / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology*; D010920:Placenta / Q000098:blood supply*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D014327:Trophoblasts / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: C515255:CXCL12 protein, human; D054377:Chemokine CXCL12
keywords: CXCL12; angiogenesis; placenta; signal transduction; trophoblast