ArticleMolecular and cellular biology2003
Direct involvement of HERV-W Env glycoprotein in human trophoblast cell fusion and differentiation.
Article in Molecular and cellular biology, 2003. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 173 papers.
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Who cites it
173 citing papers in PubMed, 425 citations in OpenAlex.
- aPKC-ζ III promotes trophoblast fusion by altering Par-3 interactions with Hippo signaling kinase LATS1.Stem cell reports · 2026Article
- Retroviruses and Cancer: Coevolution and Genetic Exchanges Between the Viral and the Host Genomes.Biology · 2026Article
- Human endogenous retrovirus envelope proteins alter extracellular vesicle cellular interactions and biodistribution.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Endogenous retroviral elements LTR8B and MER65 rewire PSG9 regulation to control trophoblast syncytialization and pre-eclampsia risk.Genome biology · 2026Article
- Baboon endogenous retrovirus (ERV) envelope pseudotyped lentiviral vectors outperform human ERV lentivectors for transduction of T, B, NK and HSPCs.Gene therapy · 2026Article
- Divergent roles of DNA methylation, TRIM28, and p53 surveillance in human embryonic and trophoblast stem cells.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Two classes of syncytiotrophoblast nuclei form following BAP-driven human pluripotent stem cell differentiation.Placenta · 2025Article
- Culture of cryopreserved first trimester placental tissues to study syncytial renewal.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Cell fusion dynamics: mechanisms of multinucleation in osteoclasts and macrophages.Inflammation and regeneration · 2024Review
- Targeted Variant Assessments of Human Endogenous Retroviral Regions in Whole Genome Sequencing Data Reveal Retroviral Variants Associated with Papillary Thyroid Cancer.Microorganisms · 2024Article
- Receptor usage of Syncytin-1: ASCT2, but not ASCT1, is a functional receptor and effector of cell fusion in the human placenta.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Charting the Dynamic Trophoblast Plasma Membrane Identifies LYN As a Functional Regulator of Syncytialization.ACS chemical biology · 2024Article
- Disruption of maternal vascular remodeling by a fetal endoretrovirus-derived gene in preeclampsia.Genome biology · 2024Article
- Adaptive expansion of ERVK solo-LTRs is associated with Passeriformes speciation events.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Article
- A Replication-Competent Retroviral Vector Expressing the HERV-W Envelope Glycoprotein is a Potential Tool for Cancer Gene Therapy.Journal of microbiology and biotechnology · 2024Article
- Trophoblast Syncytialization: A Metabolic Crossroads.Results and problems in cell differentiation · 2024Article
- Article
- Early Syncytialization of the Ovine Placenta Revisited.Results and problems in cell differentiation · 2024Review
- Galectin-1 Modulates the Fusogenic Activity of Placental Endogenous Retroviral Envelopes.Viruses · 2023Article
113 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
We recently demonstrated that the product of the HERV-W env gene, a retroviral envelope protein also dubbed syncytin, is a highly fusogenic membrane glycoprotein inducing the formation of syncytia on interaction with the type D mammalian retrovirus receptor. In addition, the detection of HERV-W Env protein (Env-W) expression in placental tissue sections led us to propose a role for this fusogenic glycoprotein in placenta formation. To evaluate this hypothesis, we analyzed the involvement of Env-W in the differentiation of primary cultures of human villous cytotrophoblasts that spontaneously differentiate by cell fusion into syncytiotrophoblasts in vitro. First, we observed that HERV-W env mRNA and glycoprotein expression are colinear with primary cytotrophoblast differentiation and with expression of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a marker of syncytiotrophoblast formation. Second, we observed that in vitro stimulation of trophoblast cell fusion and differentiation by cyclic AMP is also associated with a concomitant increase in HERV-W env and hCG mRNA and protein expression. Finally, by using specific antisense oligonucleotides, we demonstrated that inhibition of Env-W protein expression leads to a decrease of trophoblast fusion and differentiation, with the secretion of hCG in culture medium of antisense oligonucleotide-treated cells being decreased by fivefold. Taken together, these results strongly support a direct role for Env-W in human trophoblast cell fusion and differentiation.
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