The extension of mammalian pregnancy required taming inflammation: Independent evolution of extended placentation in the tammar wallaby.

Publisher: National Academy of Sciences Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 7505876 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1091-6490 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00278424 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Washington, DC : National Academy of Sciences

Macropodidae*/genetics ; Placentation* ; Inflammation*/genetics ; Biological Evolution*; Animals ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Placenta/metabolism ; Embryo Implantation/genetics ; Opossums

In the first live-bearing mammals, pregnancy was likely short and ended with a brief period of inflammatory maternal-fetal interaction. This mode of reproduction has been retained in many marsupials. While inflammation is key to successful implantation in eutherians, a key innovation in eutherians is the ability to switch off this inflammation after it has been initiated. This extended period, in which inflammation is suppressed, likely allowed for an extended period of placentation. Extended placentation has evolved independently in one lineage of marsupials, the macropodids (wallabies and kangaroos), with placentation lasting beyond the 2 to 4 d seen in other marsupial taxa, which allows us to investigate the role of inflammation response after attachment in the extension of placentation in mammals. By comparing gene expression changes at attachment in three marsupial species, the tammar wallaby, opossum, and fat-tailed dunnart, we show that inflammatory attachment is an ancestral feature of marsupial implantation. In contrast to eutherians, where attachment-related (quasi-) inflammatory reaction is even involved in epitheliochorial placentation (e.g., pig), this study found no evidence of a distinct attachment-related reaction in wallabies. Instead, only a small number of inflammatory genes are expressed at distinct points of gestation, including IL6 before attachment, LIF throughout placentation, and prostaglandins before birth. During parturition, a more distinct inflammatory reaction is detectable, likely involved in precipitating the parturition cascade similar to eutherians. We suggest that in wallaby, extended gestation became possible by avoiding an inflammatory attachment reaction, which is a different strategy than seen in eutherians.
Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

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DP200100344 Australian Research Council; 54860 John Templeton Foundation (JTF)

Keywords: implantation; inflammation; marsupial; placenta; recognition of pregnancy

Date Created: 20241008 Date Completed: 20241008 Latest Revision: 20241024

20241024

PMC11494332

10.1073/pnas.2310047121

39378090