Effect of O-GlcNAc Transferase (OGT) siRNA in trophoblastic BeWo cells

Every year, about 18 million babies are born from mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). While diabetic symptoms usually resolve after delivery, lasting complications can occur for both mother and child, including fetal overgrowth, type 2 diabetes (T2D), cardiovascular diseases, and obesity. The rapid progression of GDM is unique to pregnancies, and likely arises from placental dysfunction. Indeed, stress, nutrition and fetal gender are thought to trigger changes in placental endocrine function, including metabolic hormones and inflammatory cytokines, potentially causing GDM. Nutrient-sensing O-GlcNAcylation and its enzyme O-GlcNAc Transferase (OGT, X-linked) has been previously identified as a placental biomarker of maternal stress particularly deleterious for male offspring. Thus, we wondered whether O-GlcNAcylation participate in GDM development in a sex-dependent manner. After demonstrating that OGT is largely downregulated in male GDM compared to healthy placentas, we knocked down OGT in male trophoblastic cells. We observed changes in placental hormones, cytokines and nutrient-sensing pathways, correlating with previously demonstrated disruption in GDM placentas. Altogether, this study demonstrates that OGT and O-GlcNAcylation are partly responsible for changes observed in GDM placenta and might be the cause of sexual dimorphism observed in this pathology. Overall design: siRNA against O-GlcNAc Tansferase(siOGT) was transfected for 72h in BeWo Cells. siCtrl cells were transfected with negative scramble siRNA. Each condition was performed in biological replicates. mRNA was purified and RNA-sequencing was performed by GeneWiz.inc