Fig 2: Silencing ADAMTS12 blocks the promoting effect of DCN on LPS + HG–induced damage in primary trophoblast cells. (A) ADAMTS12 expression detected by RT-qPCR. (B) Cell proliferation detected by CCK-8 assay. (C, D) Cell migration (C) and invasion (D) detected by Transwell assay. (E) Cellular methylation level detected by m6A assay kit. (F) ADAMTS12 expression detected by Western blot. *p < 0.05 vs si-NC, #p < 0.05 vs si-NC + DCN-r. N = 3 biology repeats/group. si-NC refers to LPS + HG–treated cells transfected with a negative-control siRNA. Bar chart with mean ± standard deviation.

Fig 3: DCN and ADAMTS12 are highly expressed in the umbilical cord blood and placental tissues of GDM with obesity. (A) ELISA detection of DCN levels in the serum of subjects’ umbilical cord blood. (B) Western blot analysis of ADAMTS12 expression in the placental tissues of subjects. *p < 0.05 vs Normal, #p < 0.05 vs Obesity, &p < 0.05 vs GDM. N = 6 biology repeats/group. Bar chart with mean ± standard deviation.

Fig 4: The elevated expression of DCN and ADAMTS12 in LPS + HG–induced primary trophoblast cells. (A) Cell proliferation was measured by CCK-8 assay. (B, C) Cell migration (B) and invasion (C) were assessed by Transwell assay. (D) Cellular methylation levels were detected using an m6A assay kit. (E) Protein expression of DCN and ADAMTS12 was analyzed by Western blot. *p < 0.05 vs Normal. N = 3 biology repeats/group. Bar chart with mean ± standard deviation.

Fig 5: DCN-r promotes LPS + HG–induced primary trophoblast cell injury and upregulates ADAMTS12 protein expression. (A) Cell proliferation was measured by CCK-8 assay. (B, C) Cell migration (B) and invasion (C) were assessed by Transwell assay. (D) Methylation levels were detected using an m6A assay kit. E ADAMTS12 expression was analyzed by Western blot. *p < 0.05 vs NC. N = 3 biology repeats/group. Bar chart with mean ± standard deviation.