Role of Acid Sphingomyelinase in Murine Placentation

Growing evidence has implicated bioactive sphingolipids and their associated enzymes in proper placentation. Previous experiments done in our lab have showed compromised placental development and function in mice deficient for aSMase (aSMase-KO). We hypothesized that aSMase is involved in trophoblast lineage differentiation either through its product CER or derivatives of it. Here we show an altered sphingolipid profile in aSMase-KO placentas with increased levels of SM16:0 and decreased levels of S1P, results in line with human studies on abnormal placentation. During normal placentation, we found Smpd1 mRNA expression to be significantly increased around d13.5 while protein expression was localized to the SpT and labyrinth layers of the murine placenta with staining present in several S-TGCs. Analysis of potential trophoblastic differentiation defects in aSMase-KO placentas revealed decreased mRNA expression of Prl7c1, a marker of glycogen and SpA-TGCs.M.Sc.2020-11-15 00:00:0