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Mol. Hum. Reprod. Advance Access published online on June 4, 2004
Molecular Human Reproduction, doi:10.1093/molehr/gah070
© 2004 by Oxford University Press
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Received March 30, 2004
Accepted April 20, 2004

Review

Endogenous retroviral syncytin: compilation of experimental research on syncytin and its possible role in normal and disturbed human placentogenesis

I. Knerr 1*, B. Huppertz 2, C. Weigel 1, J. Dötsch 1, C. Wich 1, R.L. Schild 3, M.W. Beckmann 3, W. Rascher 1

1 University Children's Hospital, Erlangen, Germany
2 Department of Anatomy, University Hospital, Aachen, Germany
3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen , Germany

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ina.knerr{at}kinder.imed.uni-erlangen.de.


  Abstract

Placental syncytin was first described in the year 2000 as a fusogenic glycoprotein originally derived from a human endogenous retroviral envelope gene. Although the presence of stable integrated retroviral elements within the human genome has been known for many years, their biological significance is still obscure and has usually been designated as irrelevant or even harmful. Syncytin, however, demonstrates tissue-specific expression and distinctive receptor interaction during trophoblast cell differentiation and syncytium formation. These findings indicate an involvement of syncytin in the development of the human placenta. Disturbances in placental architecture leading to severe placental dysfunction, such as pre-eclampsia, may therefore be discussed as a consequence of an altered syncytin system. We evaluate the hypothesis that syncytin is essential for human placenta formation and may also have played an important role in human placental evolution.

Key Words: Keywords: ASCT2, human endogenous retrovirus, placenta, syncytin, syncytiotrophoblast


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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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