Uterine Cells (uterine + cell)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Conditional gene recombination by adenovirus-driven Cre in the mouse uterus

GENESIS: THE JOURNAL OF GENETICS AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2006
Haibin Wang
Abstract Cre-mediated conditional gene targeting has been shown to be successful in many cell and tissue types. However, gene recombination in the uterus with heterogeneous cell types by Cre activation is not yet well established. Using recombinant adenoviruses expressing a functional Cre (ADV-Cre) and ROSA26 reporter mice, we show here that ADV-Cre infused intraluminally in a small volume (10 ,l) conditionally excises the loxP site, resulting in lacZ expression in uterine luminal epithelial cells without significantly affecting pregnancy. In contrast, a similar intraluminal infusion of ADV-Cre in a larger volume (50 ,l) damages the normal architecture and integrity of the luminal epithelium, inducing gene recombination in the underneath stromal cells, with disruption of pregnancy. Further, decidualizing stromal cells at the implantation sites can be targeted by ADV-Cre after intravenous administration on days 5,6. This route of administration also elicits Cre activity in other tissues, including the liver, spleen, ovary, and, more remarkably, in the adrenal cortex. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of achieving conditional expression or deletion of specific genes in uterine cells at desired times and physiological states. genesis 44:51,56, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Molecular Reproduction & Development: Volume 76, Issue 12

MOLECULAR REPRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 12 2009
Article first published online: 15 OCT 200
Heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HBEGF) at the fetal-maternal interface in the human placenta. Extravillous trophoblast cells, marked by cytokeratin 7 (red), invade interstitially into the uterine decidua. Trophoblast and some resident uterine cells produce HBEGF (green), which stimulates trophoblast differentiation to an invasive phenotype and limits cell death during gestation. Nuclei are counterstained with DAPI (blue). See the accompanying article by Jessmon et al. in this issue. [source]


Fine temporal analysis of DHT transcriptional modulation of the ATM/Gadd45g signaling pathways in the mouse uterus

MOLECULAR REPRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2009
Mahinč Ivanga
Abstract In rodents, the uterus of a mature female undergoes changes during the uterine cycle, under the control of steroid hormones. 5,-Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is recognized to play an important role in the regulation of androgen action in normal endometrium. Using microarray technology, a screening analysis of genes responding to DHT in the uterus of ovariectomized mice, has allowed us to highlight multiple genes of the ATM/Gadd45g pathway that are modulated following exposure to DHT. Two phases of regulation were identified. In the early phase, the expression of genes involved in the G2/M arrest is rapidly increased, followed by the repression of genes of the G1/S checkpoint, and by the induction of transcriptional regulators. Later, i.e. from 12 to 24 hr, genes involved in G2/M transition, cytoarchitectural and lipid-related genes are stimulated by DHT while immunity-related genes appear to be differentially regulated by the hormone. These results show that a physiological dose of DHT induces the transcription of genes promoting the cell cycle progression in mice. Profile determination of temporal uterine gene expression at the transcriptional level enables us to suggest that the DHT modulation of genes involved in ATM/Gadd45g signaling in an ATM- or p53-independent manner, could play an important role in the cyclical changes of uterine cells in the mouse uterus. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 76: 278,288, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Dysregulation of the Cytokine Network in the Uterus of the Diabetic Rat

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF REPRODUCTIVE IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 6 2001
SERGE PAMPFER
Insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetes is an auto-immune disorder that produces secondary complications in numerous non-immunological systems. Changes in the synthesis and action pattern of several cytokines have been associated with the development of these alterations. Based on the clinical facts that the pregnant and non-pregnant functions of the reproductive system are also disrupted by diabetes, our laboratory has decided to concentrate its research activities on the hypothesis that cytokines may be implicated in the uteropathy and embryopathy associated with the metabolic disorder. This review article summarizes our major findings concerning the synthesis of TNF-, and IL-1, in the uterus of diabetic rats, and in cultures of rodent uterine cells upon their exposure to high concentrations of glucose. The paper also reviews evidence that both the peri-implanting embryo and the epithelial cell layer lining the uterine lumen are targets for the deleterious influence of excess TNF-,. If confirmed in the uterus of diabetic patients, these observations may explain how cytokines contribute to the dysregulation of crucial reproductive events like menstruation and embryo implantation in humans. [source]


Embryo-maternal Communication during the First Days of Embryonic Life

ANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 2005
S. Kölle
The mechanisms of embryo-maternal communication during the first days of embryonic life are largely unknown. Using the bovine as a model, the aims of our study were to morphologically characterize the interaction between the pre-implantation embryo and the epithelium of the maternal ampulla, isthmus and uterotubal junction by light and scanning electron microscopy. For this purpose, oviducts were removed from cows revealing a functional corpus luteum on day 3 after insemination. These were compared to oviducts removed on day 3 (metestrus) of the estrous cycle. Three days after insemination, the majority of the epithelial cells in the ampulla were secretory cells distinctly protruding into the oviductal lumen. Contrary the ampulla of cows on day 3 of the cycle predominantly revealed ciliated cells in the oviductal epithelium. As shown by Periodic Acid Schiff reaction (PAS) with and without amylase digestion, the secretory cells of the ampulla synthesized merely glycoproteins during metestrus, but large amounts of glycogen during pregnancy. In the isthmus no morphological differences were seen between pregnant and cyclic cows. The most conspicuous finding during pregnancy was seen in the uterotubal junction: Vital cumulus cells embedded in between epithelial cells had developed short cytoplasmic processes intensely contacting the epithelial uterine cells. The embryos obtained ex vivo were regularly covered with a thick layer of homogenous extracellular matrix. Contrary embryos produced in vitro, both with and without coculture with oviductal cells ,revealed a clearly visible zona pellucida with spongy appearance and numerous pores. Our results imply that already during the first days of life there is intense interaction of the pre-implantation embryo and the maternal genital tract part of which may be mediated by cumulus cells. [source]