Abstract
The placenta is a remarkable organ, it serves as the interface between the mother and the fetus. Proper invasion of trophoblast cells is required for a successful pregnancy. Previous studies have found that the adhesion molecule integrin β4 plays important roles during trophoblast cell invasion. Here, we found that the overall birth rate of the MARVELD1 knockout mouse is much lower than that of the wild-type mouse (p < 0.001). In E18.5 MARVELD1 knockout mice, we observed an over-invasion of trophoblast cells, and indeed, the pregnant mice had a partial placenta accreta phenotype. The HTR8/SVneo cell line was used as an in vitro model to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of MARVELD1-mediated trophoblast invasion. We detected a diminished expression of integrin β4 upon the downregulation of MARVELD1 and enhanced migrate and invasive abilities of trophoblast cells both in vivo and in vitro. The integrin β4 rescue assay also supported the results. In conclusion, this study found that MARVELD1 mediated the invasion of trophoblast cells via regulating the expression of integrin β4 during placenta development.