Secreted cyclophilin A induction during embryo implantation in a model of human trophoblast-endometrial epithelium interaction

Objective: Embryo implantation in the human is a complex process that is crucial for a successful pregnancy. Implantation involves complex interactions between the embryo and the maternal endometrium. In order to understand the critical events involved in human embryo implantation, we established a human trophoblast-endometrial interaction model to study the putative alterations of gene expression during implantation. Study design: Comparative proteomic analysis was applied to the co-culture and separated culture systems of the trophoblast cell line BeWo and human endometrial epithelial cell (EEC) line RL95-2. Comparing the secreted molecules resulted in an interesting finding that secreted cyclophilin A (CypA) was increased in the co-culture system. To further verify our observation, human recombinant CypA was applied to endometrial cells to understand the downstream gene regulation. Results: Cyclophilin A (CypA) was identified by MALDI-TOF Mass with higher expression levels in the co-cultured cells when compared to the endometrial cells alone. Western blot analysis further confirmed the increased expression of CypA in co-culture conditions. Immunoblotting analysis showed that both p38 MAPK and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) were activated in EEC. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the secreted CypA plays a specific role in the signaling pathway of embryo implantation. The identification of CypA opens a new avenue for early embryo implantation research.