Rosen H, Itin A, Schiff R, Keshet E
Department of Molecular Virology, Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
Mol Endocrinol. 1990 Jan;4(1):146-54. doi: 10.1210/mend-4-1-146.
The detection of proenkephalin A (PEA) mRNA and encoded peptides in various regions of the female reproductive system raised the possibility that opioid peptides might act as local regulators within this system. Assignment of a specific role for locally synthesized enkephalins has been hampered, however, by the unknown identity of the cells that produce PEA. Using in situ hybridization analysis we have now identified the cell types that express PEA mRNA in the reproductive system of female mice. In the ovary, PEA mRNA was localized primarily in theca cells of preovulatory follicles, and to a lesser extent, in follicular granulosa cells. In the oviducts, where PEA mRNA is most abundant, expression was confined to the secretory and ciliated epithelium of the mucosa. In the uterus, the site of PEA mRNA expression was the deep glandular layer of the endometrium. When pregnancy ensues, and upon decidual transformation, PEA expression by the same uterine cells was dramatically elevated. Elevated levels of PEA mRNA were detected predominantly in the vicinity of the implantation site, suggesting that signaling by the implanted embryo play a role in stimulating PEA expression. Based on these results, possible physiological roles for PEA-encoded peptides as autocrine/paracrine regulators within the female reproductive system are suggested.
在女性生殖系统的各个区域检测到前脑啡肽A（PEA）mRNA及其编码的肽，这增加了阿片样肽可能作为该系统内局部调节因子发挥作用的可能性。然而，由于产生PEA的细胞身份不明，确定局部合成脑啡肽的具体作用受到了阻碍。我们现在通过原位杂交分析确定了雌性小鼠生殖系统中表达PEA mRNA的细胞类型。在卵巢中，PEA mRNA主要定位于排卵前卵泡的卵泡膜细胞，在卵泡颗粒细胞中的定位较少。在输卵管中，PEA mRNA最为丰富，其表达局限于黏膜的分泌和纤毛上皮。在子宫中，PEA mRNA的表达部位是子宫内膜的深层腺层。当怀孕并发生蜕膜转变时，同一子宫细胞的PEA表达会显著升高。在植入部位附近主要检测到PEA mRNA水平升高，这表明植入胚胎的信号传导在刺激PEA表达中起作用。基于这些结果，提出了PEA编码肽作为女性生殖系统内自分泌/旁分泌调节因子的可能生理作用。
