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Spanner EA, de Graaf SP, Rickard JP. Uterine tone influences fertility of Merino ewes following laparoscopic artificial insemination. Theriogenology 2024; 222:45-53. [PMID: 38615435 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2024.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2024] [Revised: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Artificial insemination (AI) plays a critical role in facilitating rapid genetic and production gains within the sheep industry. However, variable rates of AI success remain a concern for the industry and a barrier to adoption. Furthermore, the degree to which female factors influence the success of intrauterine laparoscopic AI rather than natural mating remains unknown. As such, this study investigates the effect of several factors collected during the time of AI, on the success of intrauterine laparoscopic AI. Data was generously donated by artificial breeding companies and stud breeders during routine commercial AI operations. AI data was collected over 3 breeding seasons during commercial AI programs (N = 24 programs) using Merino ewes (N = 24,700). Sire ID (N = 253), time of AI following progesterone removal (approx. 43-59 h post removal), uterine tone and intra-abdominal fat (both scored 1-5) as well as age of the ewe were all recorded at the time of AI. Transcutaneous ultrasound subsequently determined pregnancy rate approximately 55 days post-AI. A multivariate regression analysis was performed and revealed pregnancy success to increase when semen was inseminated into a ewe with a uterine tone score of 4 or 5 (P < 0.001). The remaining factors fell short of significance within the multivariate model. An interclass coefficient variation matrix was also used to determine the proportion of variation contributed to AI success by random factors allocated in the model; site, sire, AI date and breeding season (45.99 %, 29.94 %, 15.15 % and 8.92 %, respectively). These results highlight the influence of uterine tone on ewe fertility following laparoscopic AI, but also that program location and the sire used can further modify this influence on pregnancy rate. These factors must now be considered in combination with semen factors per individual sire used during AI to ascertain the contribution of several factors to the success of laparoscopic AI in Australia.
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Affiliation(s)
- E A Spanner
- The University of Sydney, Faculty of Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, New South Wales, 2006, Australia.
| | - S P de Graaf
- The University of Sydney, Faculty of Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, New South Wales, 2006, Australia
| | - J P Rickard
- The University of Sydney, Faculty of Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, New South Wales, 2006, Australia
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2
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Toledo-Guardiola SM, Párraga-Ros E, Seva J, Luongo C, García-Vázquez FA, Soriano-Úbeda C, Matás C. Artificial insemination of all ejaculated sperm fractions accelerates embryo development and increases the uterine vascularity in the pig. Theriogenology 2024; 219:32-38. [PMID: 38382215 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2024.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
The semen of boar is characterized by ejaculation in well-differentiated fractions with specific concentration, composition, and volume. The 'sperm-rich fraction' (SRF), the most concentrated seminal fraction, is habitually collected in insemination centers to make artificial insemination (AI) doses. The absence of the other fractions in AI doses could alter the uterine reaction to AI and not trigger essential responses that could maximize fertility. Thus, there is an urge to ascertain the impact of different ejaculate fractions on the uterus after AI to optimize the semen doses. This work analyzed specific parameters related to fertility in pregnant artificially inseminated sows (n = 15) with ac-cumulative fractions of the semen of boars (n = 6): F1, composed of the sperm-rich fraction (SRF); F2, composed of F1 plus the intermediate fraction; F3, composed of F2 plus the post-SRF. Non-inseminated sows (n = 5) were included as control (C). The different types of seminal dose did not affect the number of ovulated follicles (CL; corpora lutea, p > 0.05) but did affect the embryo development (p < 0.05). The proportion of embryos in morula stages was significantly higher in AI-F1 sows (84.4%, p < 0.05). Morulas and blastocysts were balanced in AI-F2 or AI-F3 (p > 0.05). Independently of the type of seminal dose (F1, F2, or F3), we observed by immunohistochemistry that AI significantly increased uterine vascularization, although with some anatomical differences. The cranial region of the uterine horns was significantly more vascularized in AI-F1 or AI-F2 sows (26.7 ± 2.3 and 28.6 ± 2.0%, respectively), and AI-F3 showed significantly less vascularization at that point (17.8 ± 1.6%, p < 0.05). To summarize, the synergistic effect of all ejaculate fractions accelerates embryo development, at least during the preimplantation period, and increases the uterine reaction to AI in certain parts of the uterus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santa María Toledo-Guardiola
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Campus de Excelencia Mare Nostrum Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
| | - Ester Párraga-Ros
- Departamento de Anatomía y Anatomía Patológica Comparadas, Facultad de Veterinaria, Campus de Excelencia Mare Nostrum Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
| | - Juan Seva
- Departamento de Anatomía y Anatomía Patológica Comparadas, Facultad de Veterinaria, Campus de Excelencia Mare Nostrum Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
| | - Chiara Luongo
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Campus de Excelencia Mare Nostrum Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
| | - Francisco A García-Vázquez
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Campus de Excelencia Mare Nostrum Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
| | - C Soriano-Úbeda
- Departamento de Medicina, Cirugía y Anatomía Veterinaria, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de León, León, Spain.
| | - C Matás
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Campus de Excelencia Mare Nostrum Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
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3
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Bonnet A, Bluy L, Gress L, Canario L, Ravon L, Sécula A, Billon Y, Liaubet L. Sex and fetal genome influence gene expression in pig endometrium at the end of gestation. BMC Genomics 2024; 25:303. [PMID: 38515025 PMCID: PMC10958934 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-024-10144-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A fine balance of feto-maternal resource allocation is required to support pregnancy, which depends on interactions between maternal and fetal genetic potential, maternal nutrition and environment, endometrial and placental functions. In particular, some imprinted genes have a role in regulating maternal-fetal nutrient exchange, but few have been documented in the endometrium. The aim of this study is to describe the expression of 42 genes, with parental expression, in the endometrium comparing two extreme breeds: Large White (LW); Meishan (MS) with contrasting neonatal mortality and maturity at two days of gestation (D90-D110). We investigated their potential contribution to fetal maturation exploring genes-fetal phenotypes relationships. Last, we hypothesized that the fetal genome and sex influence their endometrial expression. For this purpose, pure and reciprocally crossbred fetuses were produced using LW and MS breeds. Thus, in the same uterus, endometrial samples were associated with its purebred or crossbred fetuses. RESULTS Among the 22 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), 14 DEGs were differentially regulated between the two days of gestation. More gestational changes were described in LW (11 DEGs) than in MS (2 DEGs). Nine DEGs were differentially regulated between the two extreme breeds, highlighting differences in the regulation of endometrial angiogenesis, nutrient transport and energy metabolism. We identified DEGs that showed high correlations with indicators of fetal maturation, such as ponderal index at D90 and fetal blood fructose level and placental weight at D110. We pointed out for the first time the influence of fetal sex and genome on endometrial expression at D90, highlighting AMPD3, CITED1 and H19 genes. We demonstrated that fetal sex affects the expression of five imprinted genes in LW endometrium. Fetal genome influenced the expression of four genes in LW endometrium but not in MS endometrium. Interestingly, both fetal sex and fetal genome interact to influence endometrial gene expression. CONCLUSIONS These data provide evidence for some sexual dimorphism in the pregnant endometrium and for the contribution of the fetal genome to feto-maternal interactions at the end of gestation. They suggest that the paternal genome may contribute significantly to piglet survival, especially in crossbreeding production systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnes Bonnet
- GenPhySE, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, INPT, ENVT, 31326, Castanet Tolosan, France.
| | - Lisa Bluy
- GenPhySE, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, INPT, ENVT, 31326, Castanet Tolosan, France
| | - Laure Gress
- GenPhySE, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, INPT, ENVT, 31326, Castanet Tolosan, France
| | - Laurianne Canario
- GenPhySE, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, INPT, ENVT, 31326, Castanet Tolosan, France
| | - Laure Ravon
- GenESI, INRAE, Le Magneraud, 17700, Surgères, France
| | - Aurelie Sécula
- GenPhySE, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, INPT, ENVT, 31326, Castanet Tolosan, France
- Present Address: IHAP, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, ENVT, Toulouse, France
| | - Yvon Billon
- GenESI, INRAE, Le Magneraud, 17700, Surgères, France
| | - Laurence Liaubet
- GenPhySE, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, INPT, ENVT, 31326, Castanet Tolosan, France
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4
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Rokhsartalab Azar P, Karimi S, Haghtalab A, Taram S, Hejazi M, Sadeghpour S, Pashaei MR, Ghasemnejad-Berenji H, Taheri-Anganeh M. The role of the endometrial microbiome in embryo implantation and recurrent implantation failure. J Reprod Immunol 2024; 162:104192. [PMID: 38215650 DOI: 10.1016/j.jri.2024.104192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/01/2024] [Indexed: 01/14/2024]
Abstract
There is a suggested pathophysiology associated with endometrial microbiota in cases where repeated implantation failure of high-quality embryos is observed. However, there is a suspected association between endometrial microbiota and the pathogenesis of implantation failure. However, there is still a lack of agreement on the fundamental composition of the physiological microbiome within the uterine cavity. This is primarily due to various limitations in the studies conducted, including small sample sizes and variations in experimental designs. As a result, the impact of bacterial communities in the endometrium on human reproduction is still a subject of debate. In this discourse, we undertake a comprehensive examination of the existing body of research pertaining to the uterine microbiota and its intricate interplay with the process of embryo implantation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sarmad Karimi
- Student Research Committee, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
| | - Arian Haghtalab
- Student Research Committee, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
| | - Saman Taram
- Student Research Committee, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
| | - Milad Hejazi
- Student Research Committee, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
| | - Sonia Sadeghpour
- Reproductive Health Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
| | - Mohammad Reza Pashaei
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
| | - Hojat Ghasemnejad-Berenji
- Reproductive Health Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran.
| | - Mortaza Taheri-Anganeh
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Cellular and Molecular Medicine Research Institute, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran.
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5
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Pavithra S, Kishor Kumar DG, Ramesh G, Panigrahi M, Sahoo M, Madhu CL, Singh TU, Kumar D, Parida S. Leptin decreases the transcription of BK Ca channels and Gs to Gi protein-ratio in late pregnant rat uterus. Gene 2024; 891:147831. [PMID: 37769981 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2023.147831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
Obesity can have a significant impact on pregnancy outcomes by compromising the ability of the uterus to relax, which increases the likelihood of conditions such as preterm labor. One of the key pathways responsible for uterine relaxation is the β-adrenergic signaling pathway, and it is well-documented that obesity, often linked to a high-fat diet, can disrupt this pathway within the uterine environment. Hyperleptinemia is a significant feature of pregnancy as well as obesity. However, the effect of leptin on β-adrenergic signaling pathway has not been studied. In the present study, we studied the effects of leptin on transcriptions of the major proteins defining the β-adrenergic signaling pathway in pregnant rat uterus. Leptin treatment at a supraphysiological concentration to pregnant rat uterine strips increased the mRNA and protein expressions of Gs protein but not the mRNA of β2- and β3-adrenoceptors. It also enhanced the expression of Gi-protein, but not the Gq protein. Nevertheless, the mRNA ratio of Gs to Gi protein experienced a significant decrease. Further, leptin reduced the transcription of BKCaα and BKCaβ channel subunits. In leptin-stimulated tissues, there was also an increase in the expression of leptin receptor and JAK-2. In conclusion, leptin decreases the ratio of Gs to Gi proteins and BKCaα and BKCaβ channel subunits suggesting hyperleptinemia is a likely factor inducing uterine relaxant dysfunction in obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Pavithra
- Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243122, India
| | - D G Kishor Kumar
- Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243122, India
| | - G Ramesh
- Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243122, India
| | - Manjit Panigrahi
- Division of Animal Genetics and Breeding, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243122, India
| | - Monalisa Sahoo
- Division of Pathology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243122, India
| | - C L Madhu
- Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243122, India
| | - Thakur Uttam Singh
- Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243122, India
| | - Dinesh Kumar
- Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243122, India
| | - Subhashree Parida
- Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243122, India.
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6
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Aranciaga N, Ross AB, Morton JD, McDonald R, Gathercole JL, Berg DK. Metabolomic evolution of the postpartum dairy cow uterus. Mol Reprod Dev 2023; 90:835-848. [PMID: 37632839 DOI: 10.1002/mrd.23702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/30/2023] [Indexed: 08/28/2023]
Abstract
High rates of early pregnancy loss are a critical issue in dairy herds, particularly in seasonal, grazing systems. Components of the uterine luminal fluid (ULF), on which the early embryo depends for sustenance and growth, partly determine early pregnancy losses. Here, changes in ULF from early to mid-postpartum in crossbred dairy cows were explored, linking them with divergent embryo development. For this, the uteri of 87 cows at Day 7 of pregnancy at first and third estrus postpartum were flushed to collect ULF. Eighteen metabolites (chiefly organic acids and sugars) significantly varied in abundance across postpartum, indicating a molecular signature of physiological recovery consistent of the upregulation of pyrimidine metabolism and glycerophospholipid metabolism, and downregulation of pentose phosphate and taurine metabolism pathways. Joint pathway analysis of metabolomics data and a previously generated proteomics data set on the same ULF samples suggests key links between postpartum recovery and subsequent successful embryo development. These include upregulation of VEGFA and downregulation of metabolism, NRF2, T-cell receptor, which appear to improve the ULF's capacity of sustaining normal embryo development, and a putative osmo-protectant role of beta-alanine. These relationships should be further investigated to develop tools to detect and reduce early pregnancy loss in dairy cows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Aranciaga
- Proteins and Metabolites Team, AgResearch, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Animal Biotechnology Team, AgResearch, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Alastair B Ross
- Proteins and Metabolites Team, AgResearch, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - James D Morton
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Robin McDonald
- Animal Biotechnology Team, AgResearch, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | | | - Debra K Berg
- Animal Biotechnology Team, AgResearch, Hamilton, New Zealand
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7
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Shen J, Liu Y, Zhang M, Pumir A, Mu L, Li B, Xu J. Multi-channel electrohysterography enabled uterine contraction characterization and its effect in delivery assessment. Comput Biol Med 2023; 167:107697. [PMID: 37976821 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2023.107697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Uterine contractions are routinely monitored by tocodynamometer (TOCO) at late stage of pregnancy to predict the onset of labor. However, TOCO reveals no information on the synchrony and coherence of contractions, which are important contributors to a successful delivery. The electrohysterography (EHG) is a recording of the electrical activities that trigger the local muscles to contract. The spatial-temporal information embedded in multiple channel EHG signals make them ideal for characterizing the synchrony and coherence of uterine contraction. To proceed, contractile time-windows are identified from TOCO signals and are then used to segment out the simultaneously recorded EHG signals of different channels. We construct sample entropy SamEn and Concordance Correlation based feature ψ from these EHG segments to quantify the synchrony and coherence of contraction. To test the effectiveness of the proposed method, 122 EHG recordings in the Icelandic EHG database were divided into two groups according to the time difference between the gestational ages at recording and at delivery (TTD). Both SamEn and ψ show clear difference in the two groups (p<10-5) even when measurements were made 120 h before delivery. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of these two features gave AUC values of 0.834 and 0.726 for discriminating imminent labor defined with TTD ≤ 24 h. The SamEn was significantly smaller in women (0.1433) of imminent labor group than in women (0.3774) of the pregnancy group. Using an optimal cutoff value of SamEn to identify imminent labor gives sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy as high as 0.909, 0.712 and 0.743, respectively. These results demonstrate superiority in comparing to the existing SOTA methods. This study is the first research work focusing on characterizing the synchrony property of contractions from the electrohysterography signals. Despite the very limited dataset used in the validation process, the promising results open a new direction to the use of electrohysterography in obstetrics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junhua Shen
- Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yan Liu
- College of Computer Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Meiyu Zhang
- College of Computer Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Alain Pumir
- Laboratoire de Physique, Ecole Normal Superieure de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Liangshan Mu
- Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Baohua Li
- Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Jinshan Xu
- College of Computer Science, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China.
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8
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Zhao LM, Da LC, Wang R, Wang L, Jiang YL, Zhang XZ, Li YX, Lei XX, Song YT, Zou CY, Huang LP, Zhang WQ, Zhang QY, Li QJ, Nie R, Zhang Y, Liang Y, Li-Ling J, Xie HQ. Promotion of uterine reconstruction by a tissue-engineered uterus with biomimetic structure and extracellular matrix microenvironment. Sci Adv 2023; 9:eadi6488. [PMID: 37967178 PMCID: PMC10651121 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi6488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023]
Abstract
The recurrence rate for severe intrauterine adhesions is as high as 60%, and there is still lack of effective prevention and treatment. Inspired by the nature of uterus, we have developed a bilayer scaffold (ECM-SPS) with biomimetic heterogeneous features and extracellular matrix (ECM) microenvironment of the uterus. As proved by subtotal uterine reconstruction experiments, the mechanical and antiadhesion properties of the bilayer scaffold could meet the requirement for uterine repair. With the modification with tissue-specific cell-derived ECM, the ECM-SPS had the ECM microenvironment signatures of both the endometrium and myometrium and exhibited the property of inducing stem cell-directed differentiation. Furthermore, the ECM-SPS has recruited more endogenous stem cells to promote endometrial regeneration at the initial stage of repair, which was accompanied by more smooth muscle regeneration and a higher pregnancy rate. The reconstructed uterus could also sustain normal pregnancy and live birth. The ECM-SPS may thereby provide a potential treatment for women with severe intrauterine adhesions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long-mei Zhao
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Research Institute, Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
- Frontier Medical Center, Tianfu Jincheng Laboratory, Chengdu, Sichuan 610212, China
| | - Lin-cui Da
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Research Institute, Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
- Reproductive Center of Fujian Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine for Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350001, China
| | - Rui Wang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Research Institute, Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Long Wang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Research Institute, Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Yan-lin Jiang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Research Institute, Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Xiu-zhen Zhang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Research Institute, Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Ya-xing Li
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Research Institute, Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Xiong-xin Lei
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Research Institute, Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Yu-ting Song
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Research Institute, Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Chen-yu Zou
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Research Institute, Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Li-ping Huang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Research Institute, Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Wen-qian Zhang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Research Institute, Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Qing-yi Zhang
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Research Institute, Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Qian-jin Li
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Research Institute, Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Rong Nie
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Research Institute, Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Yi Zhang
- Research Core Facility of West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Yan Liang
- Research Core Facility of West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Jesse Li-Ling
- Center of Medical Genetics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Hui-qi Xie
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Orthopedic Research Institute, Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
- Frontier Medical Center, Tianfu Jincheng Laboratory, Chengdu, Sichuan 610212, China
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9
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Zhou M, Tian T, Wu C. Mechanism Underlying the Regulation of Mucin Secretion in the Uterus during Pregnancy. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:15896. [PMID: 37958878 PMCID: PMC10647571 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242115896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The function of endometrial epithelial cells is to secrete various substances that are rich in growth factors and nutrients. These substances support both embryo implantation and its subsequent development into a fetus. A vast number of mucins are expressed in endometrial epithelial cells, and they play an important role in regulating the processes of embryo implantation, pregnancy, and parturition. Previous studies have shown that mucin forms a mucus layer covering endometrial epithelial cells, which helps resist damage from foreign bacteria and their toxins. Therefore, this article aims to investigate the location of mucins in the endometrium, the mechanism of mucin secretion by the endometrium, and the regulation of mucins in the uterine epithelium by reproductive hormones, as well as the role of mucins in the protection of the epithelium's structure. This research aims to provide a foundational understanding for future studies on the role and mechanism of endometrial mucins throughout the pregnancy cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Chenchen Wu
- College of Animal Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; (M.Z.); (T.T.)
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10
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Ang CJ, Skokan TD, McKinley KL. Mechanisms of Regeneration and Fibrosis in the Endometrium. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol 2023; 39:197-221. [PMID: 37843929 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-cellbio-011723-021442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
The uterine lining (endometrium) regenerates repeatedly over the life span as part of its normal physiology. Substantial portions of the endometrium are shed during childbirth (parturition) and, in some species, menstruation, but the tissue is rapidly rebuilt without scarring, rendering it a powerful model of regeneration in mammals. Nonetheless, following some assaults, including medical procedures and infections, the endometrium fails to regenerate and instead forms scars that may interfere with normal endometrial function and contribute to infertility. Thus, the endometrium provides an exceptional platform to answer a central question of regenerative medicine: Why do some systems regenerate while others scar? Here, we review our current understanding of diverse endometrial disruption events in humans, nonhuman primates, and rodents, and the associated mechanisms of regenerative success and failure. Elucidating the determinants of these disparate repair processes promises insights into fundamental mechanisms of mammalian regeneration with substantial implications for reproductive health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire J Ang
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA;
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Taylor D Skokan
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA;
| | - Kara L McKinley
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA;
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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11
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Jager F. An open dataset with electrohysterogram records of pregnancies ending in induced and cesarean section delivery. Sci Data 2023; 10:669. [PMID: 37783671 PMCID: PMC10545725 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02581-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The existing non-invasive automated preterm birth prediction methods rely on the use of uterine electrohysterogram (EHG) records coming from spontaneous preterm and term deliveries, and are indifferent to term induced and cesarean section deliveries. In order to enhance current publicly available pool of term EHG records, we developed a new EHG dataset, Induced Cesarean EHG DataSet (ICEHG DS), containing 126 30-minute EHG records, recorded early (23rd week), and/or later (31st week) during pregnancy, of those pregnancies that were expected to end in spontaneous term delivery, but ended in induced or cesarean section delivery. The records were collected at the University Medical Center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia. The dataset includes 38 and 43, early and later, induced; 11 and 8, early and later, cesarean; and 13 and 13, early and later, induced and cesarean EHG records. This dataset enables better understanding of the underlying physiological mechanisms involved during pregnancies ending in induced and cesarean deliveries, and provides a robust and more realistic assessment of the performance of automated preterm birth prediction methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franc Jager
- Faculty of Computer and Information Science, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 113, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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12
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Benfield R, Newton ER. Use of External Uterine Electromyography Across Stage I Labor. J Midwifery Womens Health 2023; 68:575-580. [PMID: 37114664 DOI: 10.1111/jmwh.13501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 03/25/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Highly sensitive, external uterine electromyography (EMG) measures myometrial electrical activity and is noninvasive compared with the clinical intrauterine pressure catheter. Most experimental studies have measured EMG in 30-minute epochs, limiting the utility of this instrumentation in intrapartum clinical practice. To test proof of concept, surface uterine EMG contraction activity was continuously collected throughout the first stage of labor from healthy women at term gestation with (n = 3) and without (n = 1) epidural or combined spinal-epidural analgesia for a maximal length of 11 hours and 24 minutes. METHODS EMG activity was recorded concurrently with tocodynamometer (toco) signals, using a pair of electrodes on the left and right sides of the maternal umbilicus with grounds attached to both hips of the reclining woman in labor. The preamplifier cutoff frequency settings were appropriate to monitor smooth muscle contraction in labor, with the analog high-pass filter set at 0.05 Hz and the low-pass filter at 1.50 Hz. Signals were sampled at 100 Hz, transmitted to a computer, and visualized by Chart 4.2 software. EMG data from epochs at baseline, during the pre-epidural fluid bolus and at the 60-minute post-epidural test dose, and at 3, 5, 6, and 8 cm dilatation were analyzed for burst power spectrum peak frequency (Hz), burst power spectrum amplitude (mV2 ), and burst duration (seconds). RESULTS Uterine EMG contractile bursts were preceded and followed by a stable baseline and coincided with toco contractions. Movement artifacts were negligible, and large movement artifacts were easily distinguishable. The EMG bursts and toco contractions remained clearly identifiable, even when one woman without epidural analgesia stood beside the bed laboring for approximately 10 minutes. Burst spectral components fell within the expected 0.34-to-1.00 Hz range for term labor. DISCUSSION High-quality data demonstrate that EMG instrumentation effectively and accurately measures uterine contraction parameters across the first stage of term labor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Benfield
- School of Nursing, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
| | - Edward R Newton
- Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina
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13
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Salami SA, Oreagba FO, Salahdeen HM, Olatunji-Bello II, Murtala BA. Vitamin C supplementation modulates crude oil contaminated water induced gravid uterine impaired contractile mechanism and foetal outcomes in Wistar rats. J Complement Integr Med 2023; 20:548-555. [PMID: 37300330 DOI: 10.1515/jcim-2023-0081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Crude oil is a common environmental contaminant that impacts the reproductive functions of women. Understanding the contractile mechanism of the gravid uterus and how it impacts fetal outcomes during crude oil-contaminated water (CCW) exposure is still evolving. This study investigates the effect of vitamin C supplementation during the ingestion of CCW from Bayelsa, Nigeria, on the contractile mechanism of the gravid uterus and fetal outcomes. METHODS Fifteen nulliparous pregnant rats were randomly divided into 3 groups of 5 rats each and treated with normal saline (control), CCW (2.5 mL), and CCW + vitamin C (10 mg/kg bwt), respectively. Treatments were via oral gavage from gestation days 1-19. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of CCW, uterine oxidative biomarkers, and in vitro contractile activity of excised uterine tissue to acetylcholine, oxytocin, magnesium, and potassium were determined. Furthermore, uterine responses to acetylcholine after incubation with nifedipine, indomethacin, and N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester were also recorded using the Ugo Basile data capsule acquisition system. Fetal weights, morphometric indices, and anogenital distance were also determined. RESULTS Acetylcholine, oxytocin, magnesium, diclofenac, and indomethacin-mediated contractile mechanisms were significantly impaired with CCW exposure; however, vitamin C supplementation significantly attenuated the impaired uterine contractile activity. Maternal serum estrogen, weight, uterine superoxide dismutase, fetal weight, and anogenital distance were significantly reduced in the CCW group compared to the vitamin C supplemented group. CONCLUSIONS Ingestion of CCW impaired the uterine contractile mechanism, fetal developmental indices, oxidative biomarkers, and estrogen. Vitamin C supplementation modulated these by elevating uterine antioxidant enzymes and reducing free radicals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fatai O Oreagba
- Department of Physiology, Lagos State University College of Medicine, Lagos, Nigeria
| | - Hussein M Salahdeen
- Department of Physiology, Lagos State University College of Medicine, Lagos, Nigeria
| | | | - Babatunde A Murtala
- Department of Physiology, Lagos State University College of Medicine, Lagos, Nigeria
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14
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Arias J, Kurgansky G, Wei OC, Chan-Akeley R, Toma M. Fluid-structure interaction analysis of amniotic fluid with fetus and placenta inside uterus exposed to military blasts. Injury 2023; 54:110843. [PMID: 37270348 DOI: 10.1016/j.injury.2023.110843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Pregnancy-related trauma is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in pregnant women and fetuses. The fetal response to injury is largely dependent on the timing of fetal presentation and the underlying pathophysiology of the trauma. The optimal management of pregnant patients who have suffered an obstetric emergency depends on clinical assessment and understanding of the placental implantation process, which can be difficult to perform during an emergency. Understanding the mechanisms of traumatic injuries to the fetus is crucial for developing next-generation protective devices. METHODS This study aimed to investigate the effect of amniotic fluid on mine blast on the uterus, fetus, and placenta via computational analysis. Finite element models were developed to analyze the effects of explosion forces on the uterus, fetus, and placenta, based on cadaveric data obtained from the literature. This study uses computational fluid-structure interaction simulations to study the effect of external loading on the fetus submerged in amniotic fluid inside of the uterus. RESULTS Computational fluid-structure interaction simulations are used to study the effect of external loading on the fetus/placenta submerged in amniotic fluid inside the uterus. Cushioning function of the amniotic fluid on the fetus and placenta is demonstrated. The mechanism of traumatic injuries to the fetus/placenta is shown. DISCUSSION The intention of this research is to understand the cushioning function of the amniotic fluid on the fetus. Further, it is important to make use of this knowledge in order to ensure the safety of pregnant women and their fetuses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Arias
- New York Institute of Technology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, 11568, New York, USA.
| | - Gregory Kurgansky
- New York Institute of Technology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, 11568, New York, USA.
| | - Ong Chi Wei
- Institute of High Performance Computing, 1 Fusionopolis Way #16-16 Connexis, Singapore, 138632, Singapore.
| | - Rosalyn Chan-Akeley
- Lang Research Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Queens, Flushing, 11355, New York, USA.
| | - Milan Toma
- New York Institute of Technology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, 11568, New York, USA.
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15
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Greenbaum S, Averbukh I, Soon E, Rizzuto G, Baranski A, Greenwald NF, Kagel A, Bosse M, Jaswa EG, Khair Z, Kwok S, Warshawsky S, Piyadasa H, Goldston M, Spence A, Miller G, Schwartz M, Graf W, Van Valen D, Winn VD, Hollmann T, Keren L, van de Rijn M, Angelo M. A spatially resolved timeline of the human maternal-fetal interface. Nature 2023; 619:595-605. [PMID: 37468587 PMCID: PMC10356615 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06298-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
Beginning in the first trimester, fetally derived extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs) invade the uterus and remodel its spiral arteries, transforming them into large, dilated blood vessels. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain how EVTs coordinate with the maternal decidua to promote a tissue microenvironment conducive to spiral artery remodelling (SAR)1-3. However, it remains a matter of debate regarding which immune and stromal cells participate in these interactions and how this evolves with respect to gestational age. Here we used a multiomics approach, combining the strengths of spatial proteomics and transcriptomics, to construct a spatiotemporal atlas of the human maternal-fetal interface in the first half of pregnancy. We used multiplexed ion beam imaging by time-of-flight and a 37-plex antibody panel to analyse around 500,000 cells and 588 arteries within intact decidua from 66 individuals between 6 and 20 weeks of gestation, integrating this dataset with co-registered transcriptomics profiles. Gestational age substantially influenced the frequency of maternal immune and stromal cells, with tolerogenic subsets expressing CD206, CD163, TIM-3, galectin-9 and IDO-1 becoming increasingly enriched and colocalized at later time points. By contrast, SAR progression preferentially correlated with EVT invasion and was transcriptionally defined by 78 gene ontology pathways exhibiting distinct monotonic and biphasic trends. Last, we developed an integrated model of SAR whereby invasion is accompanied by the upregulation of pro-angiogenic, immunoregulatory EVT programmes that promote interactions with the vascular endothelium while avoiding the activation of maternal immune cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shirley Greenbaum
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
| | - Inna Averbukh
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Erin Soon
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Immunology Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Gabrielle Rizzuto
- Department of Pathology, University of Californica San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Alex Baranski
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Noah F Greenwald
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Adam Kagel
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Marc Bosse
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Eleni G Jaswa
- Department of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Zumana Khair
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Shirley Kwok
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Mako Goldston
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Angie Spence
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Geneva Miller
- Division of Biology and Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Morgan Schwartz
- Division of Biology and Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Will Graf
- Division of Biology and Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - David Van Valen
- Division of Biology and Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Virginia D Winn
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Travis Hollmann
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Leeat Keren
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | | | - Michael Angelo
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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16
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Kissler KJ, Hernandez TL, Carlson N. The Relationship Between Uterine Activity, Oxytocin Dosing, Labor Progress, and Mode of Birth in Nulliparas with Obesity: Minimal Usefulness of Montevideo Unit Measurement. Biol Res Nurs 2023; 25:426-435. [PMID: 36609174 PMCID: PMC10404911 DOI: 10.1177/10998004221150798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Maternal obesity and cesarean birth disproportionately affect Black parturients; thus, prevention of cesarean birth is a key modifiable factor to improve pregnancy outcomes and reduce disparities. The primary driver of unplanned cesarean birth among people with higher body mass index is prolonged labor duration. However, strategies to optimize outcomes in these situations have not been established. We aimed to evaluate the influence of oxytocin augmentation on uterine activity and labor progression in nulliparas with obesity. METHODS This secondary analysis involved nulliparas with obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) who had spontaneous labor onset followed by oxytocin augmentation and an intrauterine pressure catheter. Using Linear Mixed Models, we evaluated relationships between uterine activity measured in Montevideo units (MVU), oxytocin dose, and rate of cervical dilation normalized by labor duration. RESULTS In this diverse sample (35.6% Caucasian, 16.11% African American, 40.2% Hispanic) of nulliparas with obesity (n = 87; BMI 35.54 ± 4.38 kg/m2), 31% ended labor with cesarean birth. Among those with vaginal birth, only 13% had MVU ≥200 prior to the final 2 hours of labor. MVUs were only minimally responsive to oxytocin dose and were not associated with labor progression nor birth route. CONCLUSION MVU measurements may not be useful to diagnose labor arrest in nulliparas with obesity. Optimizing care for birthing people with obesity is essential for improving perinatal outcomes and for reducing racial health disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine J. Kissler
- College of Nursing, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Teri L. Hernandez
- College of Nursing, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
- Division of Patient Care Services, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Nicole Carlson
- Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
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17
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Wang H, Wen Z, Wu W, Sun Z, Kisrieva-Ware Z, Lin Y, Wang S, Gao H, Xu H, Zhao P, Wang Q, Macones GA, Schwartz AL, Cuculich P, Cahill AG, Wang Y. Noninvasive electromyometrial imaging of human uterine maturation during term labor. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1198. [PMID: 36918533 PMCID: PMC10015052 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36440-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Electromyometrial imaging (EMMI) was recently developed to image the three-dimensional (3D) uterine electrical activation during contractions noninvasively and accurately in sheep. Herein we describe the development and application of a human EMMI system to image and evaluate 3D uterine electrical activation patterns at high spatial and temporal resolution during human term labor. We demonstrate the successful integration of the human EMMI system during subjects' clinical visits to generate noninvasively the uterine surface electrical potential maps, electrograms, and activation sequence through an inverse solution using up to 192 electrodes distributed around the abdomen surface. Quantitative indices, including the uterine activation curve, are developed and defined to characterize uterine surface contraction patterns. We thus show that the human EMMI system can provide detailed 3D images and quantification of uterine contractions as well as novel insights into the role of human uterine maturation during labor progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Wang
- Department of Physics, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
- Center for Reproductive Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Zichao Wen
- Center for Reproductive Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Wenjie Wu
- Center for Reproductive Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
| | - Zhexian Sun
- Center for Reproductive Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
| | - Zulfia Kisrieva-Ware
- Center for Reproductive Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Yiqi Lin
- Center for Reproductive Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
| | - Sicheng Wang
- Center for Reproductive Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
| | - Hansong Gao
- Center for Reproductive Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
| | - Haonan Xu
- Center for Reproductive Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Peinan Zhao
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Qing Wang
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - George A Macones
- Department of Women's Health, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Alan L Schwartz
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Phillip Cuculich
- Department of Cardiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Alison G Cahill
- Department of Women's Health, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Yong Wang
- Center for Reproductive Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
- Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
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Zhang X, Gong S, Li H, Jiang J, Jia Y, Zhang R, Liu H, Wang A, Jin Y, Lin P. USP18 promotes endometrial receptivity via the JAK/STAT1 and the ISGylation pathway. Theriogenology 2023; 202:110-118. [PMID: 36934584 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2023.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2022] [Revised: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2023]
Abstract
Interferon-tau (IFNT), a pregnancy recognition signal in ruminants, promotes the establishment of endometrial receptivity by inducing the expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) via the Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STATs) signaling pathway. However, the precise mechanisms remain largely unknown. Ubiquitin-specific protease 18 (USP18) acts specifically on the ISGylation modification system to exert deubiquitination and participates in the regulation of the type I IFN signaling pathway. The purpose of this study was to determine the role and mechanism of USP18 on endometrial receptivity in goat. USP18 was mainly localized in the uterine luminal and glandular epithelium, and its expression levels were significantly increased from days 5-18 of early pregnancy. Progesterone (P4), estradiol (E2), and IFNT significantly stimulated USP18 expression in goat endometrial epithelial cells (gEECs) cultured in vitro. Meanwhile, the markers of endometrial receptivity HOXA11, ITGB1, ITGB3, and ITGB5 were significantly upregulated after USP18 overexpression in gEECs. However, USP18 interference significantly inhibited the expression of HOXA10, ITGB1, ITGB3, and ITGB5 in gEECs. In addition, both the phosphorylation levels of STAT1 and the expression of ISGylation-modified proteins were significantly increased after USP18 silencing in gEECs. Furthermore, pretreatment with the STAT1 inhibitor Fludara markedly restored the effect of USP18 interference in gEECs. In summary, USP18 may play an important role in promoting goat endometrial receptivity by regulating the JAK/STAT1 pathway and ISGylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyan Zhang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China
| | - Suhua Gong
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China
| | - Haijing Li
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China
| | - Jiaqi Jiang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China
| | - Yanni Jia
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China
| | - Ruixue Zhang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China
| | - Haokun Liu
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China
| | - Aihua Wang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China
| | - Yaping Jin
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
| | - Pengfei Lin
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
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19
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Li Y, Martin TE, Hancock JM, Li R, Viswanathan S, Lydon JP, Zheng Y, Ye X. Visualization of preimplantation uterine fluid absorption in mice using Alexa Fluor™ 488 Hydrazide†. Biol Reprod 2023; 108:204-217. [PMID: 36308434 PMCID: PMC9930399 DOI: 10.1093/biolre/ioac198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Uterine fluid plays important roles in supporting early pregnancy events and its timely absorption is critical for embryo implantation. In mice, its volume is maximum on day 0.5 post-coitum (D0.5) and approaches minimum upon embryo attachment ~D4.0. Its secretion and absorption in ovariectomized rodents were shown to be promoted by estrogen and progesterone (P4), respectively. The temporal mechanisms in preimplantation uterine fluid absorption remain to be elucidated. We have established an approach using intraluminally injected Alexa Fluor™ 488 Hydrazide (AH) in preimplantation control (RhoAf/f) and P4-deficient RhoAf/fPgrCre/+ mice. In control mice, bulk entry (seen as smeared cellular staining) via uterine luminal epithelium (LE) decreases from D0.5 to D3.5. In P4-deficient RhoAf/fPgrCre/+ mice, bulk entry on D0.5 and D3.5 is impaired. Exogenous P4 treatment on D1.5 and D2.5 increases bulk entry in D3.5 P4-deficient RhoAf/fPgrCre/+ LE, while progesterone receptor (PR) antagonist RU486 treatment on D1.5 and D2.5 diminishes bulk entry in D3.5 control LE. The abundance of autofluorescent apical fine dots, presumptively endocytic vesicles to reflect endocytosis, in the LE cells is generally increased from D0.5 to D3.5 but its regulation by exogenous P4 or RU486 is not obvious under our experimental setting. In the glandular epithelium (GE), bulk entry is rarely observed and green cellular dots do not show any consistent differences among all the investigated conditions. This study demonstrates the dominant role of LE but not GE, the temporal mechanisms of bulk entry and endocytosis in the LE, and the inhibitory effects of P4-deficiency and RU486 on bulk entry in the LE in preimplantation uterine fluid absorption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuehuan Li
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Taylor Elijah Martin
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
- Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Jonathan Matthew Hancock
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
- Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Rong Li
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
- Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Suvitha Viswanathan
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - John P Lydon
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Yi Zheng
- Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology, Children’s Hospital Research Foundation, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Xiaoqin Ye
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
- Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
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20
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Luo J, Swenson CW, Betschart C, Feng F, Wang H, Ashton-Miller JA, DeLancey JOL. Comparison of in vivo visco-hyperelastic properties of uterine suspensory tissue in women with and without pelvic organ prolapse. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater 2023; 137:105544. [PMID: 36332398 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2022.105544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2022] [Revised: 10/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The uterine suspensory tissue (UST) complex includes the cardinal (CL) and uterosacral "ligaments" (USL), which are mesentery-like structures that play a role in resisting pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Since there is no information on the time-dependent material properties of the whole structure in situ and in vivo, we developed and tested an intraoperative technique to quantify in vivo whether there is a significant difference in visco-hyperelastic behavior of the CL and USL between women with and without POP. Thirteen women with POP (cases) and four controls scheduled for surgery were selected from an ongoing POP study. Immediately prior to surgery, a computer-controlled linear servo-actuator with a series force transducer applied a continuous, caudally directed traction force while simultaneously recording the resulting cervical displacement in the same direction. After applying an initial 1.1 N preload, a ramp rate of 4 mm/s was used to apply a maximum force of 17.8 N in three "ramp-and-hold" test trials. A simplified bilateral four-cable biomechanical model was used to identify the material behavior of each ligament. For this, the initial cross-section areas of the CL and USL were measured on 3-T magnetic resonance image-based 3D models from each subject. The time-dependent strain energy function of CL/USL was defined with a three-parameter hyperelastic Mooney-Rivlin material model and a two-term Prony series in relaxation form. When cases were compared with controls, the estimated time-dependent material constants of CL and USL did not differ significantly. These are the first measurements that compare the in vivo and in situ visco-hyperelastic response of the tissues comprising the CL and USL to loading in women with and without prolapse. Larger sample sizes would help improve the precision of intergroup differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajia Luo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Biomedical Engineering Department, Peking University, Beijing, China.
| | - Carolyn W Swenson
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Cornelia Betschart
- Department of Gynecology, University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Fei Feng
- University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hui Wang
- Biomedical Engineering Department, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - James A Ashton-Miller
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - John O L DeLancey
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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21
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Martins D, Batista A, Mouriño H, Russo S, Esgalhado F, dos Reis CRP, Serrano F, Ortigueira M. Adaptive Filtering for the Maternal Respiration Signal Attenuation in the Uterine Electromyogram. Sensors (Basel) 2022; 22:7638. [PMID: 36236736 PMCID: PMC9571637 DOI: 10.3390/s22197638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The electrohysterogram (EHG) is the uterine muscle electromyogram recorded at the abdominal surface of pregnant or non-pregnant woman. The maternal respiration electromyographic signal (MR-EMG) is one of the most relevant interferences present in an EHG. Alvarez (Alv) waves are components of the EHG that have been indicated as having the potential for preterm and term birth prediction. The MR-EMG component in the EHG represents an issue, regarding Alv wave application for pregnancy monitoring, for instance, in preterm birth prediction, a subject of great research interest. Therefore, the Alv waves denoising method should be designed to include the interference MR-EMG attenuation, without compromising the original waves. Adaptive filter properties make them suitable for this task. However, selecting the optimal adaptive filter and its parameters is an important task for the success of the filtering operation. In this work, an algorithm is presented for the automatic adaptive filter and parameter selection using synthetic data. The filter selection pool comprised sixteen candidates, from which, the Wiener, recursive least squares (RLS), householder recursive least squares (HRLS), and QR-decomposition recursive least squares (QRD-RLS) were the best performers. The optimized parameters were L = 2 (filter length) for all of them and λ = 1 (forgetting factor) for the last three. The developed optimization algorithm may be of interest to other applications. The optimized filters were applied to real data. The result was the attenuation of the MR-EMG in Alv waves power. For the Wiener filter, power reductions for quartile 1, median, and quartile 3 were found to be -16.74%, -20.32%, and -15.78%, respectively (p-value = 1.31 × 10-12).
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Martins
- NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
| | - Arnaldo Batista
- NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
- UNINOVA-CTS, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
| | - Helena Mouriño
- Faculty of Sciences, Lisbon University, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal
- CEAUL Faculty of Sciences, Lisbon University, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Sara Russo
- NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
| | - Filipa Esgalhado
- NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
| | - Catarina R. Palma dos Reis
- Department of Obstetrics, University Central Hospital Lisbon (CHULC), 1169-050 Lisboa, Portugal
- Comprehensive Health Research Centre (CHRC), NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 1169-056 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Fátima Serrano
- Department of Obstetrics, University Central Hospital Lisbon (CHULC), 1169-050 Lisboa, Portugal
- Comprehensive Health Research Centre (CHRC), NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 1169-056 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Manuel Ortigueira
- NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
- UNINOVA-CTS, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
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Abstract
Reproductive issues are becoming an increasing global problem. There is increasing interest in the relationship between microbiota and reproductive health. Stable microbiota communities exist in the gut, reproductive tract, uterus, testes, and semen. Various effects (e.g., epigenetic modifications, nervous system, metabolism) of dysbiosis in the microbiota can impair gamete quality; interfere with zygote formation, embryo implantation, and embryo development; and increase disease susceptibility, thus adversely impacting reproductive capacity and pregnancy. The maintenance of a healthy microbiota can protect the host from pathogens, increase reproductive potential, and reduce the rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes. In conclusion, this review discusses microbiota in the male and female reproductive systems of multiple animal species. It explores the effects and mechanisms of microbiota on reproduction, factors that influence microbiota composition, and applications of microbiota in reproductive disorder treatment and detection. The findings support novel approaches for managing reproductive diseases through microbiota improvement and monitoring. In addition, it will stimulate further systematic explorations of microbiota-mediated effects on reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Wang
- College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Lu Chen
- College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Kangle Yi
- Hunan Institute of Animal and Veterinary Science, Changsha, China
| | - Baizhong Zhang
- Hunan Institute of Animal and Veterinary Science, Changsha, China
| | - Chunjin Li
- College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Xu Zhou
- College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
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23
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Ludke A, Hatta K, Yao A, Li RK. Uterus: A Unique Stem Cell Reservoir Able to Support Cardiac Repair via Crosstalk among Uterus, Heart, and Bone Marrow. Cells 2022; 11:cells11142182. [PMID: 35883625 PMCID: PMC9324611 DOI: 10.3390/cells11142182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Revised: 07/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Clinical evidence suggests that the prevalence of cardiac disease is lower in premenopausal women compared to postmenopausal women and men. Although multiple factors contribute to this difference, uterine stem cells may be a major factor, as a high abundance of these cells are present in the uterus. Uterine-derived stem cells have been reported in several studies as being able to contribute to cardiac neovascularization after injury. However, our studies uniquely show the presence of an “utero-cardiac axis”, in which uterine stem cells are able to home to cardiac tissue to promote tissue repair. Additionally, we raise the possibility of a triangular relationship among the bone marrow, uterus, and heart. In this review, we discuss the exchange of stem cells across different organs, focusing on the relationship that exists between the heart, uterus, and bone marrow. We present increasing evidence for the existence of an utero-cardiac axis, in which the uterus serves as a reservoir for cardiac reparative stem cells, similar to the bone marrow. These cells, in turn, are able to migrate to the heart in response to injury to promote healing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Ludke
- Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7, Canada; (A.L.); (K.H.); (A.Y.)
| | - Kota Hatta
- Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7, Canada; (A.L.); (K.H.); (A.Y.)
| | - Alina Yao
- Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7, Canada; (A.L.); (K.H.); (A.Y.)
| | - Ren-Ke Li
- Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7, Canada; (A.L.); (K.H.); (A.Y.)
- Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 1P5, Canada
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-416-581-7492
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24
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Cahill AG, Wen Z, Wang H, Zhao P, Sun Z, Schwartz AL, Wang Y. Analysis of Electrophysiological Activation of the Uterus During Human Labor Contractions. JAMA Netw Open 2022; 5:e2214707. [PMID: 35653158 PMCID: PMC9164003 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.14707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alison G. Cahill
- Department of Women’s Health, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin
| | - Zichao Wen
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri
| | - Hui Wang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri
| | - Peinan Zhao
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri
| | - Zhexian Sun
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri
| | - Alan L. Schwartz
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri
| | - Yong Wang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri
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25
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Cheng A, Yao Y, Jin Y, Chen C, Vullings R, Xu L, Mischi M. Novel multichannel entropy features and machine learning for early assessment of pregnancy progression using electrohysterography. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 2022; 69:3728-3738. [PMID: 35604992 DOI: 10.1109/tbme.2022.3176668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Preterm birth is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality involving over 10% of infants. Tools for timely diagnosis of preterm birth are lacking and the underlying physiological mechanisms are unclear. The aim of the present study is to improve early assessment of pregnancy progression by combining and optimizing a large number of electrohysterography (EHG) features with a dedicated machine learning framework. METHODS A set of reported EHG features are extracted. In addition, novel cross and multichannel entropy and mutual information are employed. The optimal feature set is selected using a wrapper method according to the accuracy metric of the leave-one-out cross validation. An annotated database of 74 EHG recordings in women presenting with preterm contractions was employed to test the ability of the proposed method to recognize the onset of labor and the risk of preterm birth. Difference between using the contractile segments only and the whole EHG signal was compared. RESULTS The proposed method produces an accuracy of 96.4% and 90.5% for labor and preterm prediction, respectively, much higher than that reported in previous studies. The best labor prediction was observed with the contraction segments and the best preterm prediction was achieved with the whole EHG signal. Entropy features, particularly the newly-employed cross entropy contribute significantly to the optimal feature set for both labor and preterm prediction. SIGNIFICANCE Our results suggest that changes in the EHG, particularly the regularity, might manifest early in pregnancy. Single-channel and cross entropy may therefore provide relevant prognostic opportunities for pregnancy monitoring.
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26
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Jia X, Gao C, Wang X, Jiang LH, Fan Y. Differential Regulation by Mechanical Stretch of the Expressions of Large-Conductance Ca 2+-Activated K + Channel and L-Type Voltage-Dependent Ca 2+ Channel in Rat Uterine Smooth Muscle Cells. J Membr Biol 2022; 255:357-361. [PMID: 35322298 DOI: 10.1007/s00232-022-00226-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BKCa) channel and L-type voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel (L-VDCC) play important roles in regulating uterine contractility. The uterus stretch, occurring during pregnancy, is a critical factor to trigger uterine contraction. However, how mechanical stimuli impact the two channels remains unknown. Here we investigated the effects of exposure to mechanical stretches with varying magnitudes and durations on expressions of the two channels in rat uterine smooth muscle cells. Our results show that stretch down-regulates the BKCa channel expression but upregulates the L-VDCC expression. These findings are helpful to better understand the roles of L-VDCC and BKCa channel in stretch-triggered uterine contraction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoling Jia
- Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Chao Gao
- Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Xia Wang
- Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Lin-Hua Jiang
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology and Sino-UK Joint Laboratory of Brain Function and Injury of Henan Province, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China
| | - Yubo Fan
- Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China.
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 102402, China.
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Xu J, Wang M, Zhang J, Chen Z, Huang W, Shen G, Zhang M. Network theory based EHG signal analysis and its application in preterm prediction. IEEE J Biomed Health Inform 2022; 26:2876-2887. [PMID: 34986107 DOI: 10.1109/jbhi.2022.3140427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Early identification of high-risk patients followed by medical interventions is essential to the prevention of preterm birth. Based on the relationship between uterine contraction and the fundamental electrical activities of muscles, we extracted effective features from EHG signals recorded from pregnant women, and use them to train classifiers with the purpose of providing high precision in classifying term and preterm pregnancies. METHODS To characterize changes from irregularity to coherence of the uterine activity during the whole pregnancy, network representations of the original electrohysterogram (EHG) signals are established by applying the Horizontal Visibility Graph (HVG) algorithm, from which we extract network degree density and distribution, clustering coefficient and assortativity coefficient. Concerns on the interferences of different noise sources embedded in the EHG signal, we apply Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) to expand the original signal in the time-frequency domain. This allows a network representation and the extraction of related features on each frequency component. Feature selection algorithms are then used to filter out unrelated frequency components. We further apply the proposed feature extraction method to EHG signals available in the Term-Preterm EHG database (TPEHG), and use them to train classifiers. We adopt the Partition-Synthesis scheme which splits the original imbalanced dataset into two sets and synthesizes artificial samples separately within each subset to solve the problem of dataset imbalance. RESULTS The optimally selected network-based features, not only contribute to the identification of the essential frequency components of uterine activities related to preterm birth, but also to improved performance in classifying term/preterm pregnancies, i.e., the SVM (Support Vector Machine) classifier trained with the available samples in the TPEHG gives sensitivity, specificity, overall accuracy, and auc values as high as 0.89, 0.93, 0.91, and 0.97, respectively.
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Peral-Sanchez I, Hojeij B, Ojeda DA, Steegers-Theunissen RPM, Willaime-Morawek S. Epigenetics in the Uterine Environment: How Maternal Diet and ART May Influence the Epigenome in the Offspring with Long-Term Health Consequences. Genes (Basel) 2021; 13:31. [PMID: 35052371 PMCID: PMC8774448 DOI: 10.3390/genes13010031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The societal burden of non-communicable disease is closely linked with environmental exposures and lifestyle behaviours, including the adherence to a poor maternal diet from the earliest preimplantation period of the life course onwards. Epigenetic variations caused by a compromised maternal nutritional status can affect embryonic development. This review summarises the main epigenetic modifications in mammals, especially DNA methylation, histone modifications, and ncRNA. These epigenetic changes can compromise the health of the offspring later in life. We discuss different types of nutritional stressors in human and animal models, such as maternal undernutrition, seasonal diets, low-protein diet, high-fat diet, and synthetic folic acid supplement use, and how these nutritional exposures epigenetically affect target genes and their outcomes. In addition, we review the concept of thrifty genes during the preimplantation period, and some examples that relate to epigenetic change and diet. Finally, we discuss different examples of maternal diets, their effect on outcomes, and their relationship with assisted reproductive technology (ART), including their implications on epigenetic modifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Peral-Sanchez
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK; (D.A.O.); (S.W.-M.)
| | - Batoul Hojeij
- Department Obstetrics and Gynecology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands; (B.H.); (R.P.M.S.-T.)
| | - Diego A. Ojeda
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK; (D.A.O.); (S.W.-M.)
| | - Régine P. M. Steegers-Theunissen
- Department Obstetrics and Gynecology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands; (B.H.); (R.P.M.S.-T.)
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29
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Abstract
Altered nutrition or intrauterine exposure to various adverse conditions during fetal development or earlier in a mother's life can lead to epigenetic changes in fetal tissues, predisposing those tissues to diseases that manifest when offspring become adults. An example is a maternal obesity associated with gestational diabetes (GDM), where fetal exposure to a hyperglycemic, hyperinsulinemic, and/or hyperlipidemic gestational environment can provoke epigenetic changes that predispose offspring to various diseased conditions later in life. While it is now well established that offspring exposed to GDM have an increased risk of developing obesity, metabolic disorders, and/or cardiovascular disease in adult life, there are limited studies assessing the reproductive health of these offspring. This mini-review discusses the long-term effect of in utero exposure to GDM-associated adverse prenatal environment on the reproductive health of the offspring. Moreover, using evidence from various animal models and human epidemiological studies, this review offers molecular insight and understanding of how epigenetic reprogramming of genes culminates in reproductive dysfunction and the development of subfertility or infertility later in adult life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niharika Sinha
- Reproductive and Developmental Sciences Program, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
- Department of Animal Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
| | - Gretchen Lydia Walker
- Reproductive and Developmental Sciences Program, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
- Department of Animal Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
| | - Aritro Sen
- Reproductive and Developmental Sciences Program, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
- Department of Animal Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
- Correspondence: Aritro Sen, PhD, Reproductive and Developmental Sciences Program, 3013 Interdisciplinary Science & Technology Building, Michigan State University, 766 Service Rd, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
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Chen X, He Z, Li X, Song J, Huang M, Shi X, Li X, Li J, Xu G, Zheng J. Cuticle deposition duration in the uterus is correlated with eggshell cuticle quality in White Leghorn laying hens. Sci Rep 2021; 11:22100. [PMID: 34764400 PMCID: PMC8586345 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01718-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The cuticle formed in the uterus is the outermost layer as the first defense line of eggshell against microbial invasions in most avian species, and analyzing its genetic regulation and influencing factors are of great importance to egg biosecurity in poultry production worldwide. The current study compared the uterine transcriptome and proteome of laying hens producing eggs with good and poor cuticle quality (GC and PC, the top and tail of the cuticle quality distribution), and identified several genes involved with eggshell cuticle quality (ESCQ). Overall, transcriptomic analysis identified 53 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between PC versus GC group hens, among which 25 were up-regulated and 28 were down-regulated. No differences were found in the uterine proteome. Several DEGs, including PTGDS, PLCG2, ADM and PRLR related to uterine functions and reproductive hormones, were validated by qPCR analysis. Egg quality measurements between GC and PC hens showed GC hens had longer laying interval between two consecutive ovipositions (25.64 ± 1.23 vs 24.94 ± 1.12 h) and thicker eggshell thickness (352.01 ± 23.04 vs 316.20 ± 30.58 μm) (P < 0.05). Apart from eggshell traits, other egg quality traits didn't differ. The result demonstrated eggshell and cuticle deposition duration in the uterus is one of the major factors affecting ESCQ in laying hens. PTGDS, PLCG2, ADM and PRLR genes were discovered and might play crucial roles in cuticle deposition by regulating the uterine muscular activities and secretion function. The findings in the present study provide new insights into the genetic regulation of cuticle deposition in laying hens and establish a foundation for further investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xia Chen
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
- Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China
| | - Zhaoxiang He
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Xingzheng Li
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
- Shenzhen Agricultural Genome Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Shenzhen, 440307, China
| | - Jianlou Song
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Mingyi Huang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Xuefeng Shi
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Xianyu Li
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Junying Li
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Guiyun Xu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Jiangxia Zheng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
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Berruien NNA, Murray JF, Smith CL. Pregnancy influences the selection of appropriate reference genes in mouse tissue: Determination of appropriate reference genes for quantitative reverse transcription PCR studies in tissues from the female mouse reproductive axis. Gene 2021; 801:145855. [PMID: 34293448 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2021.145855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Selecting stably expressed reference genes which are not affected by physiological or pathophysiological conditions is crucial for reliable quantification in gene expression studies. This study examined the expression stability of a panel of twelve reference genes in tissues from the female mouse reproductive axis and the uterus. Gene expression studies were carried out using reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). cDNA was synthesised from RNA extracted from hypothalami, pituitaries, ovaries and uteri of female mice at ages representing weaning, puberty and adulthood as well as pregnancy (13 ± 1 days post-coitus) (n = a minimum of 3 at each age and at pregnancy). The reference genes examined included 18 s, Actb, Atp5b, B2m, Canx, Cyc1, Eif4a2, Gapdh, Rpl13a, Sdha, Ubc and Ywhaz. The RT-qPCR raw data were imported into the qBASE+ software to analyse the expression stability using GeNorm. These data were also subsequently analysed using other software packages (Delta CT, Normfinder, BestKeeper). A comprehensive ranking was conducted considering all stability rankings generated from the different software analyses. B2m and Eif4a2 deviated from the acceptable range for amplification efficiency and therefore were excluded from the further analyses. The stability of the reference genes is influenced by the software used for the analysis with BestKeeper providing markedly different results than the other analyses. GeNorm analysis of tissues taken at different ages but not including pregnant animals, indicated that the expression of the reference genes is tissue specific with the most stable genes being: in the hypothalamus, Canx and Actb; in the pituitary, Sdha and Cyc1; in the ovary, 18s, Sdha and Ubc; and in the uterus, Ywhaz, Cyc1, Atp5b, 18s and Rpl13a. The optimal number of reference genes to be used was determined to be 2 in the first three tissues while in the uterus, the V-score generated by the GeNorm analysis was higher than 0.15 suggesting that 3 or more genes should be used for normalisation. Inclusion of tissues from pregnant mice changed the reference genes identified as being the most stable: Ubc and Sdha were the most stable genes in the hypothalamus, pituitary and the ovary. The addition of pregnant tissue had no effect on the stability of the genes in uterus (Ywhaz, Cyc1, Atp5b, 18s and Rpl13a). Identification of these stable reference genes will be of use to those interested in studying female fertility and researchers should be alert to the effects of pregnancy on reference gene stability. This study also signifies the importance of re-examining reference gene stability if the experimental conditions are changed, as shown with the introduction of pregnancy as a new factor in this research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nasrin N A Berruien
- University of Westminster, School of Life Sciences, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, United Kingdom
| | - Joanne F Murray
- University of Edinburgh, Centre for Discovery Brain Science, Hugh Robson Building, 15 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9XD, United Kingdom
| | - Caroline L Smith
- University of Westminster, School of Life Sciences, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, United Kingdom.
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Abstract
Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is a pleiotropic cytokine that classically acts to support the development, maintenance, and function of killer lymphocytes. IL-15 is abundant in the uterus prior to and during pregnancy, but it is subject to tight spatial and temporal regulation. Both mouse models and human studies suggest that homeostasis of IL-15 is essential for healthy pregnancy. Dysregulation of IL-15 is associated with adverse outcomes of pregnancy. Herein, we review producers of IL-15 and responders to IL-15, including non-traditional responders in the maternal uterus and fetal placenta. We also review regulation of IL-15 at the maternal-fetal interface and propose mechanisms of action of IL-15 to facilitate additional study of this critical cytokine in the context of pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott M. Gordon
- Division of Neonatology, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA;
- Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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Bayram A, De Munck N, Elkhatib I, Arnanz A, El-Damen A, Abdala A, Coughlan C, Garrido N, Vidales LM, Lawrenz B, Fatemi HM. The position of the euploid blastocyst in the uterine cavity influences implantation. Reprod Biomed Online 2021; 43:880-889. [PMID: 34474972 DOI: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2021.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Revised: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
RESEARCH QUESTION Does the position of the euploid blastocyst in the uterine cavity upon transfer, measured as distance in millimetres (mm) from the fundus (DFF) to the air bubble, influence implantation potential? DESIGN A total of 507 single/double euploid frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles at blastocyst stage were included retrospectively between March 2017 and November 2018 at a single centre. The patients were on average 33.3 years old. The FET were performed in natural cycles (n = 151) or hormone replacement therapy cycles (n = 356). RESULTS Of the 507 transfers, 370 (73.0%) resulted in a pregnancy, defined as human chorionic gonadotrophin concentration over 15 mIU/ml, and 341 (67.3%) in a clinical pregnancy, with an implantation rate of 62.0% and ongoing pregnancy rate of 59.6% (302/507). When comparing the number of embryos transferred, the pregnancy rate, clinical pregnancy rate and ongoing pregnancy rate were significantly higher after double-embryo transfer (DET) (P = 0.002: P < 0.001 and P = 0.002). The quality of the blastocyst in the single-embryo transfer group had a positive effect on the pregnancy rate (A versus B, P = 0.016; A versus C, P = 0.003) and clinical pregnancy rate (A versus C, P = 0.013). After performing a multivariate logistic regression analysis to consider the effect of all explanatory variables, a negative effect between DFF and pregnancy (P = 0.001), clinical pregnancy (P = 0.001) and ongoing pregnancy (P = 0.030) was found. When all variables remained constant, an increase of 1 mm of DFF changed the odds of pregnancy by 0.882, of clinical pregnancy by 0.891 and of ongoing pregnancy by 0.925. No significant effect of DFF was found on the miscarriage outcome (P = 0.089). CONCLUSIONS The depth of blastocyst replacement inside the uterine cavity may influence the pregnancy, clinical pregnancy and ongoing pregnancy rates and should be considered as an important factor to improve the success of IVF cycles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aşina Bayram
- ART Fertility Clinics, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
| | | | | | - Ana Arnanz
- ART Fertility Clinics, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Andrea Abdala
- ART Fertility Clinics, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Nicolas Garrido
- IVI Foundation, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe (IIS La Fe), Valencia, Spain
| | | | - Barbara Lawrenz
- ART Fertility Clinics, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Obstetrical Department, Women's University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
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Zygmuntowicz A, Markiewicz W, Grabowski T, Burmańczuk A, Vyniarska A, Jaroszewski JJ. Quercetin affects uterine smooth muscle contractile activity in gilts. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0252438. [PMID: 34270573 PMCID: PMC8284652 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Quercetin is a polyphenolic flavonoid occurring in leaves, stems, flowers and fruits of many plants. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is used as a natural therapeutic agent with a broad spectrum of activities (antioxidant, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antibacterial and antiviral). Moreover, quercetin affects function of the reproductive tract, however the knowledge of this activity is still fragmentary. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the influence of quercetin on the contractile activity of the porcine myometrium collected from immature (n = 6), cyclic (n = 6) and early pregnant (n = 6) gilts. Strips of the myometrium (comprising longitudinal and circular layer) were resected from the middle part of the uterine horns and the isometric contractions were recorded. After 60-90 min of preincubation, the strips were stimulated with quercetin in increasing (10-13-10-1 M) concentrations and the changes in the tension amplitude and frequency of contractions were measured. Quercetin decreased (P<0.01-0.001) the amplitude of contractions at concentrations 10-11-10-1 M and 10-10-10-1 M in cyclic and early pregnant groups, respectively. The frequency of contractions decreased in all groups but was the highest (at concentrations 10-11-10-1 M; P<0.05-0.001) in the cyclic group and the lowest (at concentrations 10-5-10-1 M; P<0.01) in the immature group. The tension decreased only in the cyclic group after quercetin administration in high concentrations (10-6-10-1 M; P<0.05-0.01). The results indicate that quercetin causes relaxation of the porcine uterine smooth muscle but this activity is strongly related to the physiological status of the gilts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Zygmuntowicz
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Włodzimierz Markiewicz
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Artur Burmańczuk
- Department of Pharmacology Toxicology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences, Lublin, Poland
| | - Alla Vyniarska
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Stepan Gzhytskyi National University of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnologies, Lviv, Ukraine
| | - Jerzy Jan Jaroszewski
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland
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Sato M, Inohaya A, Yasuda E, Mogami H, Chigusa Y, Kawasaki K, Kawamura Y, Ueda Y, Takai H, Mandai M, Kondoh E. Three-dimensional human placenta-like bud synthesized from induced pluripotent stem cells. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14167. [PMID: 34239021 PMCID: PMC8266876 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93766-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Placental dysfunction is related to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction, but there is no effective treatment for it. Recently, various functional three-dimensional organs have been generated from human induced-pluripotent cells (iPSCs), and the transplantation of these iPSCs-derived organs has alleviated liver failure or diabetes mellitus in mouse models. Here we successfully generated a three-dimensional placental organ bud from human iPSCs. The iPSCs differentiated into various lineages of trophoblasts such as cytotrophoblast-like, syncytiotrophoblast-like, and extravillous trophoblast-like cells, forming organized layers in the bud. Placental buds were transplanted to the murine uterus, where 22% of the buds were successfully engrafted. These iPSC-derived placental organ buds could serve as a new model for the study of placental function and pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mai Sato
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan
| | - Asako Inohaya
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan
| | - Eriko Yasuda
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan
| | - Haruta Mogami
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan
| | - Yoshitsugu Chigusa
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan
| | - Kaoru Kawasaki
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan
| | - Yosuke Kawamura
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan
| | - Yusuke Ueda
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Takai
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan
| | - Masaki Mandai
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan
| | - Eiji Kondoh
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, 54 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan.
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Abstract
The WNT family of proteins is crucial in numerous developmental pathways and tissue homeostasis. WNT4, in particular, is uniquely implicated in the development of the female phenotype in the fetus, and in the maintenance of müllerian and reproductive tissues. WNT4 dysfunction or dysregulation can drive sex-reversal syndromes, highlighting the key role of WNT4 in sex determination. WNT4 is also critical in gynecologic pathologies later in life, including several cancers, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, and infertility. The role of WNT4 in normal decidualization, implantation, and gestation is being increasingly appreciated, while aberrant activation of WNT4 signaling is being linked both to gynecologic and breast cancers. Notably, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the WNT4 gene locus are strongly associated with these pathologies and may functionally link estrogen and estrogen receptor signaling to upregulation and activation of WNT4 signaling. Importantly, in each of these developmental and disease states, WNT4 gene expression and downstream WNT4 signaling are regulated and executed by myriad tissue-specific pathways. Here, we review the roles of WNT4 in women's health with a focus on sex development, and gynecologic and breast pathologies, and our understanding of how WNT4 signaling is controlled in these contexts. Defining WNT4 functions provides a unique opportunity to link sex-specific signaling pathways to women's health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren M Pitzer
- Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
| | - Marisa R Moroney
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
| | - Natalie J Nokoff
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Endocrinology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
| | - Matthew J Sikora
- Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
- Correspondence: Matthew J. Sikora, PhD; Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Mail Stop 8104, Research Complex 1 South, Rm 5117, 12801 E 17th Ave, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. . Twitter: @mjsikora
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37
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Abstract
The uterus is the organ for embryo implantation and fetal development. Most current models of the uterus are centred around capturing its function during later stages of pregnancy to increase the survival in pre-term births. However, in vitro models focusing on the uterine tissue itself would allow modelling of pathologies including endometriosis and uterine cancers, and open new avenues to investigate embryo implantation and human development. Motivated by these key questions, we discuss how stem cell-based uteri may be engineered from constituent cell parts, either as advanced self-organising cultures, or by controlled assembly through microfluidic and print-based technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Bergmann
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Centre for Trophoblast Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Wellcome Trust - Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Magdalena Schindler
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Centre for Trophoblast Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Wellcome Trust - Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Clara Munger
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Centre for Trophoblast Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Wellcome Trust - Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Christopher A Penfold
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- Centre for Trophoblast Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- Wellcome Trust - Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge, UK.
- Wellcome Trust - Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, Henry Wellcome Building of Cancer and Developmental Biology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Thorsten E Boroviak
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- Centre for Trophoblast Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- Wellcome Trust - Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge, UK.
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38
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Szpila M, Humięcka M, Bożyk K, Paterczyk B, Suwińska A, Maleszewski M, Tarkowski AK. Attempts to obtain fully xenogeneic fetuses in rat ↔ mouse model†,‡. Biol Reprod 2021; 102:499-510. [PMID: 31511860 DOI: 10.1093/biolre/ioz185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2019] [Revised: 08/06/2019] [Accepted: 09/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The full-term development of the xenogeneic embryo in the uterus of the mother of different species is very restricted and can occur only in certain groups of closely related mammals. In the case of mouse ↔ rat chimeras, the interspecific uterine barrier is less hostile to interspecific chimeric fetuses. In current work, we tested the development of mouse and rat fetuses in uteri of females of the opposite species. We created chimeric mouse ↔ rat blastocysts by injection of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) into eight-cell rat embryos and rat ESCs into eight-cell mouse embryos. Chimeras were transferred to the foster mothers of the opposite species. Despite a huge number of transferred embryos (>1000 in total for both variants), only one live fetus derived solely from the mouse ESCs was isolated at E13.5 from the rat uterus. All other fetuses and newborns were chimeric or were built only from the cells of the recipient embryo. We examined the possible reason for such an outcome and found that the xenogeneic fetuses are eliminated at the perigastrulation stage of development. Thus, we conclude that in the rat ↔ mouse combination even when extraembryonic tissues of the chimeric embryo are composed solely of the cells of the same species as the female to which embryos are transferred, the full-term development of the pure xenogeneic fetus is very unlikely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcin Szpila
- Department of Embryology, Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Monika Humięcka
- Department of Embryology, Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Bożyk
- Department of Embryology, Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Bohdan Paterczyk
- Laboratory of Electron and Confocal Microscopy, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Aneta Suwińska
- Department of Embryology, Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Marek Maleszewski
- Department of Embryology, Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Andrzej K Tarkowski
- Department of Embryology, Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
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Hyuga S, Parry RC, Danielsson J, Vink J, Fu XW, Wu A, Dan W, Yim PD, Gallos G. Anoctamin 1 antagonism potentiates conventional tocolytic-mediated relaxation of pregnant human uterine smooth muscle. J Physiol Sci 2021; 71:7. [PMID: 33618673 PMCID: PMC9352361 DOI: 10.1186/s12576-021-00792-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Accepted: 02/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Currently available tocolytic agents are not effective treatment for preterm labor beyond 48 h. A major reason is the development of maternal side effects which preclude the maintenance of an effective steady-state drug concentration. One strategy that can mitigate these side effects is utilizing synergistic drug combinations to reduce the drug concentrations necessary to elicit a clinical effect. We have previously shown that three anoctamin 1 (ANO1) antagonists mediate potent relaxation of precontracted human uterine smooth muscle (USM). In this study, we aimed to determine whether a combination of sub-relaxatory doses of tocolytic drugs in current clinical use [the L-type voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC) blocker, nifedipine (NIF); and the β2-adrenergic (β2AR) agonist, terbutaline (TRB)] will potentiate USM relaxation with two ANO1 antagonists [benzbromarone (BB) and MONNA (MN)]. OBJECTIVE This study sought to examine the synergistic potency and mechanistic basis of two ANO1 antagonists with currently available tocolytic drugs. Functional endpoints assessed included relaxation of pre-contracting pregnant human USM tissue, inhibition of intracellular calcium release, and reduction of spontaneous transient inward current (STIC) recordings in human uterine smooth muscle cells. METHODS Human myometrial strips and primary human USM cells were used in organ bath and calcium flux experiments with different combinations of sub-threshold doses of ANO1 antagonists and terbutaline or nifedipine to determine if ANO1 antagonists potentiate tocolytic drugs. RESULTS The combination of sub-threshold doses of two ANO1 antagonists and current tocolytic drugs demonstrate a significant degree of synergy to relax human pregnant USM compared to the effects achieved when these drugs are administered individually. CONCLUSION A combination of sub-threshold doses of VGCC blocker and β2AR agonist with ANO1 antagonists potentiates relaxation of oxytocin-induced contractility and calcium flux in human USM ex vivo. Our findings may serve as a foundation for novel tocolytic drug combinations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunsuke Hyuga
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 622 W. 168th St. P&S Box 46, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Robert C Parry
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 622 W. 168th St. P&S Box 46, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Jennifer Danielsson
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 622 W. 168th St. P&S Box 46, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Joy Vink
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Xiao Wen Fu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 622 W. 168th St. P&S Box 46, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Amy Wu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 622 W. 168th St. P&S Box 46, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - William Dan
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 622 W. 168th St. P&S Box 46, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Peter D Yim
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 622 W. 168th St. P&S Box 46, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - George Gallos
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 622 W. 168th St. P&S Box 46, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
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40
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Abstract
Caloric restriction (CR), an energy-restricted intervention with undernutrition instead of malnutrition, is widely known to prolong lifespan and protect against the age-related deteriorations. Recently it is found that CR significantly affects female reproduction via hypothalamic (corticotropin releasing hormone, neuropeptide Y, agouti-related peptide) and peripheral (leptin, ghrelin, insulin, insulin-like growth factor) mediators, which can regulate the energy homeostasis. Although CR reduces the fertility in female mammals, it exerts positive effects like preserving reproductive capacity. In this review, we aim to discuss the comprehensive effects of CR on the central hypothalamus-pituitary-gonad axis and peripheral ovary and uterus. In addition, we emphasize the influence of CR during pregnancy and highlight the relationship between CR and reproductive-associated diseases. Fully understanding and analyzing the effects of CR on the female reproduction could provide better strategies for the management and prevention of female reproductive dysfunctions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiayi Sun
- Department of Physiology, Basic Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006 People’s Republic of China
- Department of Clinical medicine, School of Queen Mary, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Xin Shen
- Department of Physiology, Basic Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006 People’s Republic of China
| | - Hui Liu
- Department of Physiology, Basic Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006 People’s Republic of China
| | - Siying Lu
- Department of Physiology, Basic Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006 People’s Republic of China
| | - Jing Peng
- Department of Gynecology, Nanchang HongDu Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 264 MinDe Road, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006 People’s Republic of China
| | - Haibin Kuang
- Department of Physiology, Basic Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330006 People’s Republic of China
- Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Reproductive Physiology and Pathology, Medical Experimental Teaching Center of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
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Li Z, Bian X, Ma Y, Yang Q, Jia W, Liu J, Wang F, Liu M, Li YX, Shao X, Wang YL. Uterine Scarring Leads to Adverse Pregnant Consequences by Impairing the Endometrium Response to Steroids. Endocrinology 2020; 161:5911727. [PMID: 32976565 DOI: 10.1210/endocr/bqaa174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 09/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Uterine surgical scarring is an increasing risk factor for adverse pregnant consequences that threaten fetal-maternal health. The detailed molecular features of scar implantation remain largely unknown. We aim to study the pathologic features of uterine surgical scarring and the mechanisms of compromised pregnancy outcomes of scar implantation. We generated a mouse model of uterine surgical scarring with a uterine incision penetrating the myometrium to endometrium to examine the pathologic changes and transcriptome profiles of uterine scarring at various postsurgery (PS) time points, as well as features of the feto-maternal interface during scar implantation. We found that uterine surgical scar recovery was consistently poor at PS3 until PS90, as shown by a reduced number of endometrial glands, inhibition of myometrial smooth muscle cell growth but excessive collagen fiber deposition, and massive leukocyte infiltration. Transcriptome annotation indicated significant chronic inflammation at the scarring site. At the peri-implantation and postimplantation stages, abnormal expression of various steroid-responsive genes at the scarring site was in parallel with lumen epithelial cell hyperplasia, inappropriate luminal closure, and disorientation of the implanted embryo, restricted stromal cell proliferation, and defective decidualization. High embryonic lethality (around 70%) before E10.5 was observed, and the small amount of survival embryos at E10.5 exhibited restricted growth and aberrant placenta defects including overinvasion of trophoblast cells into the decidua and insufficient fetal blood vessel branching in the labyrinth. The findings indicate that chronic inflammation and compromised responses to steroids in uterine scar tissues are the pivotal molecular basis for adverse pregnancy consequences of scar implantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhilang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaotao Bian
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yeling Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Qian Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- NHC Key Lab of Reproduction Regulation (Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research), Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wentong Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Juan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Feiyang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ming Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yu-Xia Li
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xuan Shao
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yan-Ling Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Critchley HOD, Babayev E, Bulun SE, Clark S, Garcia-Grau I, Gregersen PK, Kilcoyne A, Kim JYJ, Lavender M, Marsh EE, Matteson KA, Maybin JA, Metz CN, Moreno I, Silk K, Sommer M, Simon C, Tariyal R, Taylor HS, Wagner GP, Griffith LG. Menstruation: science and society. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2020; 223:624-664. [PMID: 32707266 PMCID: PMC7661839 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2020.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2020] [Revised: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Women's health concerns are generally underrepresented in basic and translational research, but reproductive health in particular has been hampered by a lack of understanding of basic uterine and menstrual physiology. Menstrual health is an integral part of overall health because between menarche and menopause, most women menstruate. Yet for tens of millions of women around the world, menstruation regularly and often catastrophically disrupts their physical, mental, and social well-being. Enhancing our understanding of the underlying phenomena involved in menstruation, abnormal uterine bleeding, and other menstruation-related disorders will move us closer to the goal of personalized care. Furthermore, a deeper mechanistic understanding of menstruation-a fast, scarless healing process in healthy individuals-will likely yield insights into a myriad of other diseases involving regulation of vascular function locally and systemically. We also recognize that many women now delay pregnancy and that there is an increasing desire for fertility and uterine preservation. In September 2018, the Gynecologic Health and Disease Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development convened a 2-day meeting, "Menstruation: Science and Society" with an aim to "identify gaps and opportunities in menstruation science and to raise awareness of the need for more research in this field." Experts in fields ranging from the evolutionary role of menstruation to basic endometrial biology (including omic analysis of the endometrium, stem cells and tissue engineering of the endometrium, endometrial microbiome, and abnormal uterine bleeding and fibroids) and translational medicine (imaging and sampling modalities, patient-focused analysis of menstrual disorders including abnormal uterine bleeding, smart technologies or applications and mobile health platforms) to societal challenges in health literacy and dissemination frameworks across different economic and cultural landscapes shared current state-of-the-art and future vision, incorporating the patient voice at the launch of the meeting. Here, we provide an enhanced meeting report with extensive up-to-date (as of submission) context, capturing the spectrum from how the basic processes of menstruation commence in response to progesterone withdrawal, through the role of tissue-resident and circulating stem and progenitor cells in monthly regeneration-and current gaps in knowledge on how dysregulation leads to abnormal uterine bleeding and other menstruation-related disorders such as adenomyosis, endometriosis, and fibroids-to the clinical challenges in diagnostics, treatment, and patient and societal education. We conclude with an overview of how the global agenda concerning menstruation, and specifically menstrual health and hygiene, are gaining momentum, ranging from increasing investment in addressing menstruation-related barriers facing girls in schools in low- to middle-income countries to the more recent "menstrual equity" and "period poverty" movements spreading across high-income countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hilary O D Critchley
- Medical Research Council Centre for Reproductive Health, The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
| | - Elnur Babayev
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
| | - Serdar E Bulun
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
| | | | - Iolanda Garcia-Grau
- Igenomix Foundation-Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital Clínico, INCLIVA, Valencia, Spain; Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Peter K Gregersen
- The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Northwell Health, Manhasset, NY
| | | | | | | | - Erica E Marsh
- Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Kristen A Matteson
- Division of Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women and Infants Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI
| | - Jacqueline A Maybin
- Medical Research Council Centre for Reproductive Health, The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Christine N Metz
- The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Northwell Health, Manhasset, NY
| | - Inmaculada Moreno
- Igenomix Foundation-Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital Clínico, INCLIVA, Valencia, Spain
| | - Kami Silk
- Department of Communication, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
| | - Marni Sommer
- Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY
| | - Carlos Simon
- Igenomix Foundation-Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital Clínico, INCLIVA, Valencia, Spain; Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard University, Boston, MA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
| | | | - Hugh S Taylor
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Günter P Wagner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Systems Biology Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
| | - Linda G Griffith
- Center for Gynepathology Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
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Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the methotrexate (MTX) in rat embryonal implantation and its association with Glycodelin A (GdA) and Mucin-1 (MUC-1) expression. For this purpose, 32 pregnant rats were divided into four equal groups: non-pregnant rats in group I (n = 8, control) and pregnant rats in group III (n = 8) were injected intraperitoneal with single dose of normal saline, non-pregnant rats in group II (n = 8) and pregnant rats in group IV (n = 8) were given 0.2 mg i.m. injection of MTX before three months of pregnancy. The dams were killed on 5th day of gestation and uterine horn samples were removed. Following dissection and routine histological preparation, immunohistochemical analysis was carried out. During immunohistochemical examination of the tissue samples prepared from the control and experimental groups, a statistically significant difference was observed between the groups in the luminal-glandular-decidualized epithelium of the uterus with GdA and MUC-1. Finally, in light of our findings, MTX adversely affected the expression of two molecules in Wistar Albino rats embryonal implantation model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gokhan Erdil
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Arakli Bayram Halil State Hospital, Arakli, Turkey
| | - M Emre Ercin
- Department of Pathology, Karadeniz Technical University School of Medicine, Trabzon, Turkey
| | - Suleyman Guven
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Karadeniz Technical University School of Medicine, Trabzon, Turkey
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Women may experience differing types of pain and discomfort following birth, including cramping pain (often called after-birth pain) associated with uterine involution, where the uterus contracts to reduce blood loss and return the uterus to its non-pregnant size. This is an update of a review first published in 2011. OBJECTIVES To assess the effectiveness and safety of pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain relief/analgesia for the relief of after-birth pains following vaginal birth. SEARCH METHODS For this update, we searched Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth's Trials Register, ClinicalTrials.gov, the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) (31 October 2019), and reference lists of retrieved studies. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomised controlled trials comparing two different types of analgesia or analgesia versus placebo or analgesia versus no treatment, for the relief of after-birth pains following vaginal birth. Types of analgesia included pharmacological and non-pharmacological. Quasi-randomised trials were not eligible for inclusion. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two review authors independently assessed trials for inclusion, conducted 'Risk of bias' assessment, extracted data and assessed the certainty of the evidence using the GRADE approach. MAIN RESULTS In this update, we include 28 studies (involving 2749 women). The evidence identified in this review comes from middle- to high-income countries. Generally the trials were at low risk of selection bias, performance bias and attrition bias, but some trials were at high risk of bias due to selective reporting and lack of blinding. Our GRADE certainty of evidence assessments ranged from moderate to very low certainty, with downgrading decisions based on study limitations, imprecision, and (for one comparison) indirectness. Most studies reported our primary outcome of adequate pain relief as reported by the women. No studies reported data relating to neonatal adverse events, duration of hospital stay, or breastfeeding rates. Almost half of the included studies (11/28) excluded breastfeeding women from participating, making the evidence less generalisable to a broader group of women. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) compared to placebo NSAIDs are probably better than placebo for adequate pain relief as reported by the women (risk ratio (RR) 1.66, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.45 to 1.91; 11 studies, 946 women; moderate-certainty evidence). NSAIDs may reduce the need for additional pain relief compared to placebo (RR 0.15, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.33; 4 studies, 375 women; low-certainty evidence). There may be a similar risk of maternal adverse events (RR 1.05, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.41; 9 studies, 598 women; low-certainty evidence). NSAIDs compared to opioids NSAIDs are probably better than opioids for adequate pain relief as reported by the women (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.57; 5 studies, 560 women; moderate-certainty evidence) and may reduce the risk of maternal adverse events (RR 0.62, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.89; 3 studies, 255 women; low-certainty evidence). NSAIDs may be better than opioids for the need for additional pain relief, but the wide CIs include the possibility that the two classes of drugs are similarly effective or that opioids are better (RR 0.37, 95% CI 0.12 to 1.12; 2 studies, 232 women; low-certainty evidence). Opioids compared to placebo Opioids may be better than placebo for adequate pain relief as reported by the women (RR 1.26, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.61; 5 studies, 299 women; low-certainty evidence). Opioids may reduce the need for additional pain relief compared to placebo (RR 0.48, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.82; 3 studies, 273 women; low-certainty evidence). Opioids may increase the risk of maternal adverse events compared with placebo, although the certainty of evidence is low (RR 1.59, 95% CI 0.99 to 2.55; 3 studies, 188 women; low-certainty evidence). Paracetamol compared to placebo Very low-certainty evidence means we are uncertain if paracetamol is better than placebo for adequate pain relief as reported by the women, the need for additional pain relief, or risk of maternal adverse events (2 studies, 123 women). Paracetamol compared to NSAIDs Very low-certainty evidence means we are uncertain if there are any differences between paracetamol and NSAIDs for adequate pain relief as reported by the women, or the risk of maternal adverse events. No data were reported about the need for additional pain relief comparing paracetamol and NSAIDs (2 studies, 112 women). NSAIDs compared to herbal analgesia We are uncertain if there are any differences between NSAIDs and herbal analgesia for adequate pain relief as reported by the women, the need for additional pain relief, or risk of maternal adverse events, because the certainty of evidence is very low (4 studies, 394 women). Transcutaneous nerve stimulation (TENS) compared to no TENS Very low-certainty evidence means we are uncertain if TENS is better than no TENS for adequate pain relief as reported by the women. No other data were reported comparing TENS with no TENS (1 study, 32 women). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS NSAIDs may be better than placebo and are probably better than opioids at relieving pain from uterine cramping/involution following vaginal birth. NSAIDs and paracetamol may be as effective as each other, whereas opioids may be more effective than placebo. Due to low-certainty evidence, we are uncertain about the effectiveness of other forms of pain relief. Future trials should recruit adequate numbers of women and ensure greater generalisability by including breastfeeding women. In addition, further research is required, including a survey of postpartum women to describe appropriately their experience of uterine cramping and involution. We identified nine ongoing studies, which may help to increase the level of certainty of the evidence around pain relief due to uterine cramping in future updates of this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea R Deussen
- Adelaide Medical School, Robinson Research Institute, The University of Adelaide, North Adelaide, Australia
| | - Pat Ashwood
- Adelaide Medical School, Robinson Research Institute, The University of Adelaide, North Adelaide, Australia
| | - Ruth Martis
- Centre for Health and Social Practice, Waikato Institute of Technology, Waikato, New Zealand
| | - Fiona Stewart
- Cochrane Children and Families Network, c/o Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth, Department of Women's and Children's Health, The University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Luke E Grzeskowiak
- Adelaide Medical School, Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
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Abstract
Objective To evaluate the location of transferred embryos under various parameters during embryo transfer in in vitro fertilization (IVF) by applying an in vitro experimental model for embryo transfer (ET). Methods Mock ET simulations were conducted with a laboratory model of the uterine cavity. The transfer catheter was loaded with a sequence of air and liquid volumes, including development-arrested embryos donated by patients. The transfer procedure was recorded using a digital video camera. An orthogonal design, including three independent variables (uterine orientation, distance of the catheter tip to the fundus, and injection speed) and one dependent variable (final embryo position), was applied. Results The uterine cavity was divided into six regions. The distribution of the transferred matter within the uterine cavity varied according to the uterine orientation. Medium speed-injected embryos were mostly found in the static region while fast- and slow-speed injected embryos were mostly found in the fundal region and the cervical-left region, respectively. The possibility of embryo separation from the air bubble increased from 11.1% in slow injection cases to 29.6% and 48.1% in medium and fast injection cases, respectively. Conclusion The experimental model provides a new method for investigating ET procedures. Fast injection of embryos into a retroverted uterus may be more likely to result in embryo separation from the air bubble.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinqiu Mo
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qing Yang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Lan Xia
- Reproductive Medical Center, Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Ruijin Hospital Affiliated with the Medical School of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhihong Niu
- Reproductive Medical Center, Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Ruijin Hospital Affiliated with the Medical School of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- * E-mail:
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Xu Y, Liu H, Hao D, Taggart M, Zheng D. Uterus Modeling from Cell to Organ Level: towards Better Understanding of Physiological Basis of Uterine Activity. IEEE Rev Biomed Eng 2020; 15:341-353. [PMID: 32915747 DOI: 10.1109/rbme.2020.3023535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The relatively limited understanding of the physiology of uterine activation prevents us from achieving optimal clinical outcomes for managing serious pregnancy disorders such as preterm birth or uterine dystocia. There is increasing awareness that multi-scale computational modeling of the uterus is a promising approach for providing a qualitative and quantitative description of uterine physiology. The overarching objective of such approach is to coalesce previously fragmentary information into a predictive and testable model of uterine activity that, in turn, informs the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to these pressing clinical problems. This article assesses current progress towards this goal. We summarize the electrophysiological basis of uterine activation as presently understood and review recent research approaches to uterine modeling at different scales from single cell to tissue, whole organ and organism with particular focus on transformative data in the last decade. We describe the positives and limitations of these approaches, thereby identifying key gaps in our knowledge on which to focus, in parallel, future computational and biological research efforts.
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Orsso CE, Colin-Ramirez E, Field CJ, Madsen KL, Prado CM, Haqq AM. Adipose Tissue Development and Expansion from the Womb to Adolescence: An Overview. Nutrients 2020; 12:E2735. [PMID: 32911676 PMCID: PMC7551046 DOI: 10.3390/nu12092735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Revised: 08/29/2020] [Accepted: 09/02/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Prevalence rates of pediatric obesity continue to rise worldwide. Adipose tissue (AT) development and expansion initiate in the fetus and extend throughout the lifespan. This paper presents an overview of the AT developmental trajectories from the intrauterine period to adolescence; factors determining adiposity expansion are also discussed. The greatest fetal increases in AT were observed in the third pregnancy trimester, with growing evidence suggesting that maternal health and nutrition, toxin exposure, and genetic defects impact AT development. From birth up to six months, healthy term newborns experience steep increases in AT; but a subsequent reduction in AT is observed during infancy. Important determinants of AT in infancy identified in this review included feeding practices and factors shaping the gut microbiome. Low AT accrual rates are maintained up to puberty onset, at which time, the pattern of adiposity expansion becomes sex dependent. As girls experience rapid increases and boys experience decreases in AT, sexual dimorphism in hormone secretion can be considered the main contributor for changes. Eating patterns/behaviors and interactions between dietary components, gut microbiome, and immune cells also influence AT expansion. Despite the plasticity of this tissue, substantial evidence supports that adiposity at birth and infancy highly influences its levels across subsequent life stages. Thus, a unique window of opportunity for the prevention and/or slowing down of the predisposition toward obesity, exists from pregnancy through childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camila E. Orsso
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada; (C.E.O.); (C.J.F.); (C.M.P.)
| | | | - Catherine J. Field
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada; (C.E.O.); (C.J.F.); (C.M.P.)
| | - Karen L. Madsen
- Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2C2, Canada;
| | - Carla M. Prado
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada; (C.E.O.); (C.J.F.); (C.M.P.)
| | - Andrea M. Haqq
- Department of Pediatrics and Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R7, Canada
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Belstra BA, Willenburg KL, Gómez-López DH, Knox RV, Stewart KR. Effects of the number of sperm and site of uterine semen deposition on conception rate and the number of embryos in weaned sows receiving a single fixed-time insemination. J Anim Sci 2020; 98:skaa260. [PMID: 32853338 PMCID: PMC7507410 DOI: 10.1093/jas/skaa260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Reducing the number of sperm needed to produce a litter with artificial insemination (AI) allows greater use of higher genetic merit boars. Induced ovulation with single fixed-time artificial insemination (SFTAI), combined with intrauterine (IUI) or deep uterine insemination (DUI), could improve fertility with low numbers of sperm. The objectives of the study were to determine the fertility effects of sperm numbers and the site of insemination. At weaning (0 h), sows (n = 534) were assigned by parity and estrus induction method (equine chorionic gonadotropin [eCG] or Control) to receive 1,200 × 106 sperm by IUI; 600, 300, or 150 × 106 sperm by IUI or DUI; or 75 × 106 sperm by DUI. At 80 h postweaning, sows received OvuGel and 26 h later a SFTAI using pooled semen. Sows were exposed to boars once daily and ultrasound was performed to determine follicle size and time of ovulation. Following SFTAI, sows were slaughtered 27 d after AI to determine pregnancy and litter traits. Data were analyzed using different models to test for effects of estrus induction, interaction of three levels of sperm (600 to 150) with two levels for site (IUI vs. DUI), and the overall effects of AI method (eight treatments). There was no effect (P > 0.05) of estrus induction on estrus (93%) within 5 d of weaning or on follicle size (6.1 mm) at OvuGel, but wean-to-estrus interval (3.8 vs. 4.0 d) was slightly reduced (P < 0.01) as was AI-to-ovulation interval (15.9 vs. 17.0 h, P = 0.04) for eCG and Control, respectively. There was no effect (P > 0.05) of estrus induction on pregnancy rate (78.6%), number of corpora lutea (CL; 21.7), or number of viable embryos (12.2). There was no effect of number of sperm or site of insemination and no interaction (P > 0.05) on pregnancy rate (range: 80.9% to 70.5%), but AI occurring after ovulation reduced the pregnancy rate (P < 0.02). The total number of embryos (range: 16.5 to 10.3) was not affected by estrus induction, number of sperm, or site of insemination (P > 0.05), but was influenced by AI treatment (P < 0.01). Treatments with a higher number of sperm (1,200 and 600) had more embryos compared with those with a lower number of sperm (300 to 75). The numbers of embryos also increased with the number of CL (P < 0.0001). These results suggest that the lower number of sperm affects litter size more than the pregnancy status. Acceptable fertility can be achieved with low numbers of sperm when using a SFTAI and uterine deposition, but AI-to-ovulation interval and ovulation rate influence final fecundity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Robert V Knox
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
| | - Kara R Stewart
- Department of Animal Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
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Luongo C, González-Brusi L, Cots-Rodríguez P, Izquierdo-Rico MJ, Avilés M, García-Vázquez FA. Sperm Proteome after Interaction with Reproductive Fluids in Porcine: From the Ejaculation to the Fertilization Site. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21176060. [PMID: 32842715 PMCID: PMC7570189 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21176060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Revised: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Ejaculated sperm are exposed to different environments before encountering the oocyte. However, how the sperm proteome changes during this transit remains unsolved. This study aimed to identify proteomic changes in boar sperm after incubation with male (seminal plasma, SP) and/or female (uterine fluid, UF; and oviductal fluid, OF) reproductive fluids. The following experimental groups were analyzed: (1) SP: sperm + 20% SP; (2) UF: sperm + 20% UF; (3) OF: sperm + 20% OF; (4) SP + UF: sperm + 20% SP + 20% UF; and (5) SP+OF: sperm + 20% SP + 20% OF. The proteome analysis, performed by HPLC-MS/MS, allowed the identification of 265 proteins. A total of 69 proteins were detected in the UF, SP, and SP + UF groups, and 102 proteins in the OF, SP, and SP + OF groups. Our results showed a higher number of proteins when sperm were incubated with only one fluid than when they were co-incubated with two fluids. Additionally, the number of sperm-interacting proteins from the UF group was lower than the OF group. In conclusion, the interaction of sperm with reproductive fluids alters its proteome. The description of sperm-interacting proteins in porcine species after co-incubation with male and/or female reproductive fluids may be useful to understand sperm transport, selection, capacitation, or fertilization phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Luongo
- Department of Physiology, Veterinary School, International Excellence Campus for Higher Education and Research (Campus Mare Nostrum), University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain;
| | - Leopoldo González-Brusi
- Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain; (L.G.-B.); (P.C.-R.); (M.J.I.-R.)
| | - Paula Cots-Rodríguez
- Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain; (L.G.-B.); (P.C.-R.); (M.J.I.-R.)
| | - Mª José Izquierdo-Rico
- Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain; (L.G.-B.); (P.C.-R.); (M.J.I.-R.)
- Institute for Biomedical Research of Murcia, IMIB-Arrixaca, 30100 Murcia, Spain
| | - Manuel Avilés
- Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain; (L.G.-B.); (P.C.-R.); (M.J.I.-R.)
- Institute for Biomedical Research of Murcia, IMIB-Arrixaca, 30100 Murcia, Spain
- Correspondence: (M.A.); (F.A.G.-V.)
| | - Francisco Alberto García-Vázquez
- Department of Physiology, Veterinary School, International Excellence Campus for Higher Education and Research (Campus Mare Nostrum), University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain;
- Institute for Biomedical Research of Murcia, IMIB-Arrixaca, 30100 Murcia, Spain
- Correspondence: (M.A.); (F.A.G.-V.)
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Hewitt SC, Carmona M, Foley KG, Donoghue LJ, Lierz SL, Winuthayanon W, Korach KS. Peri- and Postpubertal Estrogen Exposures of Female Mice Optimize Uterine Responses Later in Life. Endocrinology 2020; 161:bqaa081. [PMID: 32623449 PMCID: PMC7417879 DOI: 10.1210/endocr/bqaa081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
At birth, all female mice, including those that either lack estrogen receptor α (ERα-knockout) or that express mutated forms of ERα (AF2ERKI), have a hypoplastic uterus. However, uterine growth and development that normally accompany pubertal maturation does not occur in ERα-knockout or AF2ERKI mice, indicating ERα-mediated estrogen (E2) signaling is essential for this process. Mice that lack Cyp19 (aromatase knockout, ArKO mice), an enzyme critical for E2 synthesis, are unable to make E2 and lack pubertal uterine development. A single injection of E2 into ovariectomized adult (10 weeks old) females normally results in uterine epithelial cell proliferation; however, we observe that although ERα is present in the ArKO uterine cells, no proliferative response is seen. We assessed the impact of exposing ArKO mice to E2 during pubertal and postpubertal windows and observed that E2-exposed ArKO mice acquired growth responsiveness. Analysis of differential gene expression between unexposed ArKO samples and samples from animals exhibiting the ability to mount an E2-induced uterine growth response (wild-type [WT] or E2-exposed ArKO) revealed activation of enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) and heart- and neural crest derivatives-expressed protein 2 (HAND2) signaling and inhibition of GLI Family Zinc Finger 1 (GLI1) responses. EZH2 and HAND2 are known to inhibit uterine growth, and GLI1 is involved in Indian hedgehog signaling, which is a positive mediator of uterine response. Finally, we show that exposure of ArKO females to dietary phytoestrogens results in their acquisition of uterine growth competence. Altogether, our findings suggest that pubertal levels of endogenous and exogenous estrogens impact biological function of uterine cells later in life via ERα-dependent mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvia C Hewitt
- Reproductive and Development Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH, North Carolina
| | - Marleny Carmona
- Reproductive and Development Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH, North Carolina
| | - K Grace Foley
- Reproductive and Development Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH, North Carolina
| | - Lauren J Donoghue
- Reproductive and Development Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH, North Carolina
| | - Sydney L Lierz
- Reproductive and Development Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH, North Carolina
| | - Wipawee Winuthayanon
- Reproductive and Development Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH, North Carolina
| | - Kenneth S Korach
- Reproductive and Development Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH, North Carolina
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