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Updated: Aug 29, 2026

Mouse In Vivo Placental Targeted CRISPR Manipulation
Published on: April 14, 2023
Expression pattern of the CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins C/EBP-alpha, C/EBP-beta and C/EBP-delta in the human
Ana-Maria Bamberger1, Antonis Makrigiannakis, Martina Schröder
1Department of Gynecopathology, Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany. abamberger@uke.uni-hamburg.de
Abstract:
The human trophoblast has the capacity to invade maternal tissue in a controlled fashion and to produce a wide range of hormones. The transcription factors belonging to the CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) family are regulators of intracellular processes and mediators of hormone action. C/EBP binding sites have been described in the promoters of several placenta-expressed target genes. In the present study, we used immunohistochemistry and Western-blot analysis to investigate the expression pattern of the three most important members of this family, C/EBP-alpha, -beta, and -delta, in the normal human placenta as well as in isolated trophoblast cell populations. We found C/EBP-alpha and C/EBP-beta expression in the villous syncytiotrophophoblast (ST) and the extravillous (intermediate) trophoblast (EVT), but it was absent from the villous cytotrophoblast (CT). Interestingly, expression of C/EBP-beta continued to be very strong up to the third trimester of pregnancy, especially in the ST. C/EBP-delta showed overall lower expression levels, stronger only in the EVT, while CT/ST showed very low/negative expression. These data show for the first time the expression pattern and tissue localization of C/EBP factors in the human placenta, indicating that these factors (especially C/EBP-beta) may play important roles in the regulation of placenta-specific genes and processes.
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