This week’s articles describe placental and intrinsic signals that direct development in embryos.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
Preventing preeclampsia in pregnancy
Ho et al. report that the placental hormone ELABELA (also known as ELA, a ligand of the apelin receptor) protects against preeclampsia and associated defects in fetal heart development.
The makings of the reproductive tract
Zhao et al. show that enhanced activation of the kinase ERK and the transcription factor COUP-TFII, not the absence of androgen as previously thought, suppresses mesenchyme-epithelium crosstalk to eliminate male reproductive tracts in female embryos.
