REVIEW article
Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Embryonic Development
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcell.2025.1661952
This article is part of the Research TopicProceedings of Anatomy 2024 – Tripartite Meeting: The Role of Medical Embryology for Interdisciplinary ResearchView all 6 articles
Cis-regulatory elements operating in the trophoblast
Provisionally accepted
Terezia Vcelkova
Paulina A Latos*- Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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The placenta is vital for supporting embryonic development and ensuring a successful pregnancy. Its diverse functions are carried out by specialized trophoblast cell types, including the progenitor cytotrophoblast (CTB), the multinucleated syncytiotrophoblast (STB), and the invasive extravillous trophoblast (EVT). The distinct identities of these cells are governed by tightly regulated gene expression programs, controlled by transcription factors (TFs) and cis-regulatory elements (CREs), particularly enhancers and silencers. They integrate spatiotemporal cues to modulate transcriptional activity and establish cell-type-specific gene expression profiles. Disruptions of these regulatory mechanisms can impair placental development and function, contributing to pregnancy complications. In this review, we explore the interplay between TFs and CREs in trophoblast lineage specification and function, with a focus on enhancers and silencers. We provide an overview of human placental development, describe commonly used in vitro models, and discuss recent technological advances that have deepened our understanding of transcriptional regulation in the placenta.
Keywords: trophoblast, Placenta, Silencers, enhancers, gene regulation
Received: 08 Jul 2025; Accepted: 25 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Vcelkova and Latos. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Paulina A Latos, paulina.latos@meduniwien.ac.at
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