aPKC-ζ III promotes trophoblast fusion by altering Par-3 interactions with Hippo signaling kinase LATS1.

Sumaiyah Z Shaha, Wendy K Duan, Juan Garcia Rivas, Ivan K Domingo, Meghan Riddell

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Stem cell reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

1citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

An Integrated Proteomics and Genomics Approach to Identify Essential Protein Kinases During Human Trophoblast Development.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026
Article

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Sumaiyah Z ShahaDepartment of Physiology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.

Wendy K DuanDepartment of Physiology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.

Juan Garcia RivasDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.

Ivan K DomingoDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.

Meghan RiddellDepartment of Physiology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Electronic address: mriddell@ualberta.ca.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The first trimester of pregnancy is a critical developmental period for the placenta. In humans, the maternal-facing exchange surface is formed by a single giant multinucleate syncytium: the syncytiotrophoblast (ST). The ST arises from villous lineage commitment of trophoblast stem cells (TSC) and the differentiation and fusion of progenitor cytotrophoblasts (pCT) to form the multinucleate syncytium. The Hippo signaling co-transcription factor YAP1 promotes pCT maintenance and TSC stemness; however, how Hippo signaling is regulated remains unknown. We have identified a novel PRKCZ-encoded aPKC isoform, aPKC-ζ III, that is highly expressed in pCT and ST. Here, we establish that aPKC-ζ III promotes pCT fusion by activation of Hippo signaling. Specifically, aPKC-ζ III outcompetes the Hippo kinase LATS1 for scaffolding protein Par-3 binding, resulting in YAP1 inactivation and pCT fusion. Our findings identify a key modulator of Hippo signaling in human trophoblasts that is critical for first-trimester ST differentiation.

Indexed as

Protein Kinase CProtein Serine-Threonine KinasesTrophoblastsAdaptor Proteins, Signal TransducingCell DifferentiationCell FusionFemaleHippo Signaling PathwayHumansPregnancyProtein BindingProtein Kinase C zetaSignal TransductionStem CellsYAP-Signaling ProteinsAdaptor Proteins, Signal TransducingLATS1 protein, humanProtein Kinase CProtein Kinase C zetaProtein Serine-Threonine KinasesYAP1 protein, humanYAP-Signaling ProteinsaPKCHippoplacentasingle-nuclei RNA sequencingTrophoblasttrophoblast stem cells

Identifiers

PMID42349426

DOI10.1016/j.stemcr.2026.102975

PMCPMC13385426

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.