Marmoset and human trophoblast stem cells differ in signaling requirements and recapitulate divergent modes of trophoblast invasion

Cell Stem Cell. 2024 Oct 3;31(10):1427-1446.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2024.09.004. Epub 2024 Sep 24.

Abstract

Early human trophoblast development has remained elusive due to the inaccessibility of the early conceptus. Non-human primate models recapitulate many features of human development and allow access to early postimplantation stages. Here, we tracked the pre- to postimplantation transition of the trophoblast lineage in superficially implanting marmoset embryos in vivo. We differentiated marmoset naive pluripotent stem cells into trophoblast stem cells (TSCs), which exhibited trophoblast-specific transcriptome, methylome, differentiation potential, and long-term self-renewal. Notably, human TSC culture conditions failed to support marmoset TSC derivation, instead inducing an extraembryonic mesoderm-like fate in marmoset cells. We show that combined MEK, TGF-β/NODAL, and histone deacetylase inhibition stabilizes a periimplantation trophoblast-like identity in marmoset TSCs. By contrast, these conditions differentiated human TSCs toward extravillous trophoblasts. Our work presents a paradigm to harness the evolutionary divergence in implantation strategies to elucidate human trophoblast development and invasion.

Keywords: extraembryonic mesoderm; human development; interstitial implantation; marmoset embryo; marmoset trophoblast stem cells; non-human primate trophoblast; primate trophoblast stem cells; superficial implantation; trophoblast; trophoblast stem cells.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Callithrix*
  • Cell Differentiation*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Pluripotent Stem Cells / cytology
  • Pluripotent Stem Cells / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction*
  • Stem Cells / cytology
  • Stem Cells / metabolism
  • Trophoblasts* / cytology
  • Trophoblasts* / metabolism