Department of Physiology, Biophysics and Systems Biology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Angiogenesis. 2020 Aug;23(3):443-458. doi: 10.1007/s10456-020-09723-z. Epub 2020 May 8.
During the initiation of pregnancy, the vasculature of the implantation site expands rapidly, yet little is known about this process or its role in fertility. Here, we report that endothelial-specific deletion of a disintegrin and metalloprotease 10 (ADAM10), an essential regulator of Notch signaling, results in severe subfertility in mice. We found that implantation sites develop until 5.5 days post conception (dpc) but are resorbed by 6.5 dpc in A10ΔEC mice. Analysis of the mutant implantation sites showed impaired decidualization and abnormal vascular patterning compared to controls. Moreover, RNA-seq analysis revealed changes in endothelial cell marker expression consistent with defective ADAM10/Notch signaling in samples from A10ΔEC mice, suggesting that this signaling pathways is essential for the physiological function of endometrial endothelial cells during early pregnancy. Our findings raise the possibility that impaired endothelial cell function could be a cause for repeated pregnancy loss (RPL) and infertility in humans.
在妊娠初期,着床部位的血管迅速扩张,但人们对这一过程或其在生育中的作用知之甚少。在这里,我们报告说,内皮细胞特异性缺失一种解整合素和金属蛋白酶 10(ADAM10),一种 Notch 信号的必需调节剂,导致小鼠严重的生育力下降。我们发现,着床部位在受孕后 5.5 天(dpc)发育,但在 A10ΔEC 小鼠中在 6.5 dpc 被吸收。对突变体着床部位的分析表明,与对照相比,蜕膜化受损和血管模式异常。此外,RNA-seq 分析显示,A10ΔEC 小鼠样本中内皮细胞标记物的表达发生变化,与 ADAM10/Notch 信号的缺陷一致,这表明该信号通路对妊娠早期子宫内膜内皮细胞的生理功能是必需的。我们的研究结果表明,内皮细胞功能受损可能是人类反复妊娠丢失(RPL)和不孕的原因。