title: Estrogen receptor α is required for oviductal transport of embryos.
abstract: Newly fertilized embryos spend the first few days within the oviduct and are transported to the uterus, where they implant onto the uterine wall. An implantation of the embryo before reaching the uterus could result in ectopic pregnancy and lead to maternal death. Estrogen is necessary for embryo transport in mammals; however, the mechanism involved in estrogen-mediated cellular function within the oviduct remains unclear. In this study, we show in mouse models that ciliary length and beat frequency of the oviductal epithelial cells are regulated through estrogen receptor α (ESR1) but not estrogen receptor β (ESR2). Gene profiling indicated that transcripts in the WNT/β-catenin (WNT/CTNNB1) signaling pathway were regulated by estrogen in mouse oviduct, and inhibition of this pathway in a whole oviduct culture system resulted in a decreased embryo transport distance. However, selective ablation of CTNNB1 from the oviductal ciliated cells did not affect embryo transport, possibly because of a compensatory mechanismviaintact CTNNB1 in the adjacent secretory cells. In summary, we demonstrated that disruption of estrogen signaling in oviductal epithelial cells alters ciliary function and impairs embryo transport. Therefore, our findings may provide a better understanding of etiology of the ectopic pregnancy that is associated with alteration of estrogen signals.-Li, S., O'Neill, S. R. S., Zhang, Y., Holtzman, M. J., Takemaru, K.-I., Korach, K. S., Winuthayanon, W. Estrogen receptor α is required for oviductal transport of embryos.
authors.affiliation: School of Molecular Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA.
authors.forename: Shuai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Molecular Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA.
authors.forename: Sofia R S
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: O'Neill
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Holtzman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook, New York, USA; and.
authors.forename: Ken-Ichi
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Takemaru
authors.affiliation: Reproductive and Developmental Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Korach
authors.affiliation: School of Molecular Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA; winuthayanonw@vetmed.wsu.edu.
authors.forename: Wipawee
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Winuthayanon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002923:Cilia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D010065:Embryo Implantation, Delayed; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D047629:Estrogen Receptor beta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010057:Oviducts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011271:Pregnancy, Ectopic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D047629:Estrogen Receptor beta; D051153:Wnt Proteins; D051176:beta Catenin
keywords: cilia; epithelial cells; fertility