Cell specification and functional interactions in the pig blastocyst inferred from single-cell transcriptomics and uterine fluids proteomics

Adrien Dufour, Cyril Kurylo, Jan B. Stöckl, Denis Laloë, Yoann Bailly, Patrick Manceau, Frédéric Martins, Ali G. Turhan, Stéphane Ferchaud, Bertrand Pain, Thomas Fröhlich, Sylvain Foissac, Jérôme Artus, Hervé Acloque
Genomics. 2024-03-01; 116(2): 110780
DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2023.110780

1. Genomics. 2024 Mar;116(2):110780. doi: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2023.110780. Epub 2024
Jan 9.

Cell specification and functional interactions in the pig blastocyst inferred
from single-cell transcriptomics and uterine fluids proteomics.

Dufour A(1), Kurylo C(2), Stöckl JB(3), Laloë D(1), Bailly Y(4), Manceau P(4),
Martins F(5), Turhan AG(6), Ferchaud S(4), Pain B(7), Fröhlich T(3), Foissac
S(2), Artus J(6), Acloque H(8).

Author information:
(1)Université Paris Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, GABI, Domaine de Vilvert,
78350 Jouy en Josas, France.
(2)Université de Toulouse, INRAE, ENVT, GenPhySE, Chemin de Borde Rouge, 31326
Castanet-Tolosan, France.
(3)Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Genzentrum, Feodor-Lynen-Str. 25,
81377 München, Germany.
(4)INRAE, GenESI, La Gouvanière, 86480 Rouillé, France.
(5)Plateforme Genome et Transcriptome (GeT-Santé), GenoToul, Toulouse
University, CNRS, INRAE, INSA, Toulouse, France; I2MC – Institut des Maladies
Métaboliques et Cardiovasculaires, Inserm, Université de Toulouse, Université
Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
(6)Université Paris Saclay, Inserm, UMRS1310, 7 rue Guy Moquet, 94800 Villejuif,
France.
(7)Université de Lyon, Inserm, INRAE, SBRI, 18 Av. du Doyen Jean Lépine, 69500
Bron, France.
(8)Université Paris Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, GABI, Domaine de Vilvert,
78350 Jouy en Josas, France. Electronic address: .

The embryonic development of the pig comprises a long in utero pre- and
peri-implantation development, which dramatically differs from mice and humans.
During this peri-implantation period, a complex series of paracrine signals
establishes an intimate dialogue between the embryo and the uterus. To better
understand the biology of the pig blastocyst during this period, we generated a
large dataset of single-cell RNAseq from early and hatched blastocysts, spheroid
and ovoid conceptus and proteomic datasets from corresponding uterine fluids.
Our results confirm the molecular specificity and functionality of the three
main cell populations. We also discovered two previously unknown subpopulations
of the trophectoderm, one characterised by the expression of LRP2, which could
represent progenitor cells, and the other, expressing pro-apoptotic markers,
which could correspond to the Rauber’s layer. Our work provides new insights
into the biology of these populations, their reciprocal functional interactions,
and the molecular dialogue with the maternal uterine environment.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2023.110780
PMID: 38211822 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of competing interest The authors
declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal
relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this
paper.