GATA factors: Master regulators of gene expression in trophoblast progenitors

Mammalian reproduction is critically dependent on trophoblast cells, which ensure embryo implantation and placentation. Development of trophoblast cell lineages is a multi-step process and relies upon proper spatial and temporal gene expression, which is regulated by multiple transcription factors. However, most of the transcription factors that are implicated in trophoblast development regulate gene expression at a specific developmental stage or in a specific trophoblast subtype. In contrast, recent studies from our group and other laboratories indicate that conserved GATA family of transcription factors, GATA2 and GATA3, are important to regulate gene expression at multiple stages of trophoblast development. Furthermore, our conditional gene deletion studies revealed that functional redundancy of GATA2 and GATA3 ensures both self-renewal of trophoblast stem and progenitor cells and their differentiation to trophoblast cells of a matured placenta. Together these findings indicate that GATA2/GATA3 are the master orchestrators of gene expression in trophoblast cells and they fine tune gene regulatory network to establish distinct trophoblast cell types during placentation.