ArticleReproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E2013
Effects of corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) on cell viability and differentiation in the human BeWo choriocarcinoma cell line: a potential syncytialisation inducer distinct from cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP).
Article in Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- The proteomic landscape of trophoblasts unravels calcium-dependent syncytialization processes and beta-chorionic gonadotropin (ß-hCG) production.Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E · 2025Article
- Associations between maternal plasma concentrations of corticotrophin releasing hormone and the placental transcriptome.Placenta · 2025Article
- Syncytiotrophoblast Markers Are Downregulated in Placentas from Idiopathic Stillbirths.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Focusing on the role of secretin/adhesion (Class B) G protein-coupled receptors in placental development and preeclampsia.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2022Review
- Methylation of the Corticotropin Releasing Hormone Gene Promoter in BeWo Cells: Relationship to Gene Activity.International journal of endocrinology · 2015Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPlacental production of corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) rises exponentially as pregnancy progresses, and has been linked with the onset of normal and preterm labour. CRH is produced in syncytiotrophoblast cells and production is increased by glucocorticoids and cAMP. It remains unclear whether cAMP acts by inducing differentiation of cytotrophoblasts and/or through induction of syncytialisation. As CRH can stimulate cAMP pathways we have tested whether a feed-forward system may exist in placental cells during syncytialisation.
methodsThe choriocarcinoma BeWo cell line was treated with cAMP, CRH or vehicle. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay, while apoptosis was analysed by DAPI staining and by FACS. Differentiation was measured by assaying message for hCG and ERVW-1 (syncytin1) by qRT-PCR, as well as the respective protein by ELISA. Fusion of BeWo cells was assessed by co-staining cell membrane and nuclei with CellMask and Hoechst 33342. CRHR1 and CRHR2 mRNA levels were measured by qRT-PCR.
resultsWe show that cAMP has an inductive effect on syncytialisation, as evidenced by induction of hCG secretion, by ERVW-1 mRNA expression and by formation of multinuclear cells. CRH mRNA expression was found to increase prior to the changes in the other syncytialisation markers. cAMP had an inhibitory effect on BeWo cell viability, but exogenous CRH did not. However, CRH did mimic the differentiation inducing effect of cAMP, suggesting a link between CRH and cAMP signalling in syncytialisation. We also found that treatment of BeWo cells with exogenous CRH resulted in elevated cellular CRHR1 levels.
conclusionsThis study suggests a positive feed-forward role exists for CRH in trophoblast cell differentiation, which may underlie the exponential rise in CRH observed as gestation advances.
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