Abstract：
Mesenchymal cells within theplacental villi play a crucial role in shaping the morphology of branching structures and driving the development of blood vessels. However, the markers and functions of placental villous pericytes (PVPs) as distinct subgroups of placental villous mesenchymal cells, remain unclear. Therefore, in this study, the markers and functions of PVPs were investigated. Single-cell sequencing data from the first-trimester placental villi was obtained and the Seurat tool was used to identify PVP markers. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis of specific genes was performed using the DAVID database. The Cellchat tool was employed to investigate the interaction signals between the PVPs and other cells. Expression of the PVP markers was confirmed using immunofluorescence. Presence of extracellular vesicles in the placental villous mesenchyme and PVPs was examined by transmission electron microscopy. Our findings revealed that renin (REN) and amphiregulin (AREG)-positive fibroblasts in the placental villi specifically expressed several classic pericyte markers. In the first trimester, certain conserved functions of pericytes were observed and they displayed tissue-specific functions such as in the integrin-mediated signaling pathway and extracellular exosomes. Moreover, the placental villous mesenchyme was found to be rich in extracellular vesicles. AREG is specifically transcribed in the first trimester PVPs, however, its protein was located in syncytiotrophoblasts. These insights contribute to a comprehensive understanding of early placental development and offer new therapeutic targets for placenta-derived pregnancy complications.
摘要：
胎盘绒毛内的间充质细胞在形成分支结构的形态和驱动血管的发育中起着至关重要的作用。然而,胎盘绒毛周细胞（PVP）作为胎盘绒毛间充质细胞的不同亚群的标记和功能，仍然不清楚。因此,在这项研究中，研究了PVP的标记和功能。获得来自妊娠早期胎盘绒毛的单细胞测序数据，并使用Seurat工具鉴定PVP标记。使用DAVID数据库进行特定基因的基因本体论(GO)分析。Cellchat工具用于研究PVP和其他细胞之间的相互作用信号。使用免疫荧光确认PVP标志物的表达。通过透射电子显微镜检查了胎盘绒毛间质和PVP中细胞外囊泡的存在。我们的发现表明，胎盘绒毛中的肾素（REN）和双调蛋白（AREG）阳性成纤维细胞特异性表达了几种经典的周细胞标记。在头三个月，观察到周细胞的某些保守功能,它们表现出组织特异性功能,如整合素介导的信号通路和细胞外泌体.此外，发现胎盘绒毛间充质富含细胞外囊泡。AREG在妊娠早期的PVP中特别转录，然而,其蛋白位于合胞体滋养层中。这些见解有助于全面了解早期胎盘发育，并为胎盘源性妊娠并发症提供新的治疗靶点。
