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Placental Expression Levels of Non-Clustered Cell Adhesion Protocadherins

Undergraduate #80
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Subcategory: Cell and Molecular Biology

Tyrese Taylor - Bethune-Cookman University
Co-Author(s): Raphael D. Isokpehi,Bethune-Cookman University, Daytona Beach, Florida



The placenta is the highly specialized but relatively understudied organ of pregnancy that supports the normal growth and development of the fetus. The non-clustered protocadherins (PCDHs) constitute a subfamily of the cadherin family of calcium-dependent cell adhesion transmembrane proteins with homophilic binding activity. The protocadherins possess ectodomain comprising six or seven cadherin repeats with high sequence conservation within the family. The adhesion of placental cells to maternal and fetal cells can influence the outcome of human pregnancy. The goal of the research study was to understand the normal expression levels of the 12 protocadherin genes during placental development. We hypothesize that a combination of bioinformatics and visual analytics methods will helps us identify data patterns in normal placental expression levels of the non-clustered protocadherins that could be of potential biological significance in placental function and development. A data set of Affymetrix gene expression levels obtained from normal placentae at first-trimester, second-trimester, and term was analyzed. Genes encoding PCDH10, PCDH12 and PCDH18 had probe sets that were highly expressed across the gestational ages. Our literature search revealed that (1) PCDH10, PCDH12 and PCDH18 are members of the Delta2 protocadherins with PCDH12 and PCDH18 in same phylogenetic branch; (2) association of delta2 protocadherins with pathophysiology of cognitive impairment such as autism; and (3) PCDH12 is abundantly expressed in trophoblast subtypes of the human placenta and may play important role in placental development. Additional research is needed to elucidate the function of PCDH18 in cell adhesion processes in placental growth and development.

Not Submitted

Funder Acknowledgement(s): Raphael D. Isokpehi

Faculty Advisor: Raphael D. Isokpehi, isokpehir@cookman.edu

Role: I found the data for the the placental gene expression.

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. DUE-1930047. Any opinions, findings, interpretations, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of its authors and do not represent the views of the AAAS Board of Directors, the Council of AAAS, AAAS’ membership or the National Science Foundation.

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