Events

Seminar: CPM Seminar Series - Dr Norah Fogarty (KCL)

Date: 25 February 2026   Time: 15:00 - 16:00     

Molecular mechanisms regulating human trophectoderm development

The mammalian embryo forms a blastocyst 5 days after fertilisation comprised of an outer layer of trophectoderm (TE) and the inner cell mass. The TE mediates implantation and is the progenitor of all placental trophoblast cell types that are functionally required for fetal growth and development. Failed blastocyst formation and implantation defects are two of the leading causes of early pregnancy loss in both assisted and unassisted reproduction. The mechanisms regulating TE formation in human development are poorly understood despite their fundamental biological importance and their wide-reaching clinical implications. Comparative embryology approaches have identified a conserved requirement for Hippo signalling in TE initiation, but subsequent TE development is not understood. In my RNA-seq and immunofluorescence analyses of human and bovine embryos I have identified canonical WNT/β-catenin signalling as a candidate regulator of the TE, but with opposite effects observed between species. We seek to elucidate the molecular basis of WNT/β-catenin signalling in early human embryogenesis to better understand human TE development.

Location:

Molecular mechanisms regulating human trophectoderm development

Updated by: Julien Gautrot