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Phenotypic CRISPR screening identifies ZBTB10 as a novel regulator of human trophoblast differentiation

Esbin, M. N., Bhowmik, R., Li, H., Cearlock, A., Chen, J., Tran, T., McCartney, S. A., Glass, I. A., Birth Defects Research Laboratory (BDRL),, Hockemeyer, D., et al.
10.64898/2026.06.29.734890 · was preprinted
Surfaced because: unusual independent discussion.
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Abstract

The human placenta is built by trophoblast cells that fuse together, secrete hormones, and invade the uterus, and defects in these processes contribute to pregnancy disorders such as preeclampsia. Because cell-cell fusion and hormone secretion are inherently non-cell-autonomous processes, their regulators have remained inaccessible to conventional pooled CRISPR screens. Here, we developed an arrayed CRISPR screen in fusogenic BeWo trophoblasts that simultaneously quantifies fusion and hCG secretion across 412 gene perturbations. The screen revealed that these two hallmark functions of trophoblast differentiation are genetically separable. We characterized the strongest novel hit, ZBTB10, in trophoblast stem cells, organoids, and placental tissue and find that ZBTB10 is an essential regulator of human trophoblast differentiation. ZBTB10 is required for invasive extravillous trophoblast differentiation and supports syncytiotrophoblast maturation, establishing it as a cross-lineage regulator that both activates and represses distinct trophoblast fate programs. Together, these findings provide a genetic platform and phenotypic dissection of how regulatory networks control human placental development.

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  • Jane Coffin Childs Fund for Medical Research @jcchildsfund.bsky.social · 314 followers neutral

    What’s hotter: the current heatwave or sizzling new research from JCC Fellow Dr. Meagan Esbin providing insight into the genetics of placental development? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 1/

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  • bioRxivpreprint @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · 8895 followers neutral

    Phenotypic CRISPR screening identifies ZBTB10 as a novel regulator of human trophoblast differentiation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.29.734890v1

    ♡ 1 ⇄ 0 💬 0 view on Bluesky ↗
  • bioRxiv Cell Biology @biorxiv-cellbio.bsky.social · 6030 followers neutral

    Phenotypic CRISPR screening identifies ZBTB10 as a novel regulator of human trophoblast differentiation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.29.734890v1

    ♡ 0 ⇄ 0 💬 0 view on Bluesky ↗