Talah Hasanni
Supervisor: Meghan Riddell
Project: Understanding how the placenta forms
"Even in the 21st century, we are still unravelling the fundamental processes of placental formation."
Understanding the formation of the placenta: The role of aPKC-ζ III in human placental stem cell specialization
Meghan Riddell's lab studies the placenta, an organ that is vital for fetal growth and development during pregnancy. Sometimes, the placenta does not form correctly, leading to serious problems like preeclampsia. However, little is understood about the placenta, so treatments for complications like preeclampsia are limited.
Our research focuses on cells called trophoblasts – special cells in the placenta that form the connection between the mom and the baby. Growing these cells in a lab was only recently achieved, therefore, there is still much left to understand. In the lab, we look at how trophoblast stem cells (TSCs) change into villous trophoblasts —cells that make up the outer layer of the placenta.
An important type of these cells is the syncytiotrophoblast (ST). STs come from other cells called cytotrophoblasts (CTs), which transform and join together to form STs. We are investigating a group of proteins called atypical protein kinase-c (aPKC), which play a role in how CTs become STs. There are two main types of aPKC, but our lab was the first to discover an entirely new type in placenta cells – aPKC-ζ III. To study this new protein's unique role, we used gene-editing technology to create cells lacking the PRKCZ gene, which is responsible for making these aPKC proteins.
I will be working with these cells, adding either aPKC-ζ III or the other types of aPKC one by one, and then triggering them to turn into STs. I will use a microscope to see how many of them form STs. By understanding how exactly these cells form the placenta, we hope to find new ways to treat conditions like preeclampsia. Determining the role of these proteins in placental development could lead to important breakthroughs in treating and preventing complications in pregnancy.
Talah Hasanni was supervised by Meghan Riddell and her summer studentship was funded by the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Alberta Women’s Health Foundation. She is enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Honours Physiology program.
