Relevance of the NR4A sub-family of nuclear orphan receptors in trophoblastic BeWo cell differentiation

Nur-77, a member of the NR4A sub-family of nuclear orphan receptors, is downregulated in the placentae of pre-eclamptic women. Here, we investigate the relevance of Nor-1, Nurr-1 and Nur-77 in trophoblastic cell differentiation. Their transcript levels were found to be significantly upregulated in BeWo cells treated with forskolin. The maximum increase was observed after 2 h, with a second peak in the expression levels after 48 h. The expression of NR4A sub-family members was also found to be upregulated in BeWo cells after treatment with hCG and GnRH. A similar significant increase was observed at the respective protein levels after 2 and 48 h of treatment with forskolin, hCG or GnRH. Silencing Nor-1, Nurr-1 or Nur-77 individually did not show any effect on forskolin-, hCG- and/or GnRH-mediated BeWo cell fusion and/or hCG secretion. After silencing any one member of the NR4A sub-family, an increase in the transcript levels of the other sub-family members was observed, indicating a compensatory effect due to their functional redundancy. Simultaneously silencing all three NR4A sub-family members significantly downregulated forskolin- and hCG-mediated BeWo cell fusion and/or hCG secretion. However, a considerable amount of cell death occurred after forskolin or hCG treatment as compared to the control siRNA-transfected cells. These results suggest that the NR4A sub-family of nuclear orphan receptors has a role in trophoblastic cell differentiation.