Gene Expression Changes after Coumestrol Stimulation of Human Trophoblast Cells

Coumestrol is a potent isoflavone found in spinach and soy. To examine whether consuming large amounts of coumestrol during pregnancy affects the development of the placenta, human trophoblast cells (HTR8/Svneo) were treated with vehicle or coumestrol. Upon treatment, 3,079 genes were differentially regulated. Human trophoblast cell lines (HTR8/Svneo) were grown up and plated into 6-well plates. Upon reaching 70% confluency, cells were treated with media containing vehicle or 65µM coumestrol for 24 hours. At the time of harvest, cells were washed with sterile PBS and then RNA was isolated for downstream microarray analysis.