Center of Biological and Health Science, UFOB - Universidade Federal Do Oeste da Bahia, Barreiras, Bahia, Brazil.
Department of Biology, UNESP - University Estadual Paulista, São José Do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
Cell Tissue Res. 2021 Apr;384(1):211-229. doi: 10.1007/s00441-020-03342-2. Epub 2021 Jan 6.
Myotis nigricans is a species of bat from the Vespertilionidae family that is endemic of the Neotropical region. Its insectivorous feeding habit plus its large range of prey species, great geographical dispersion, wide colonies, and anthropomorphized behavior make this species an important ecological agent that acts in the control of nocturnal insects. Reproductively, M. nigricans presents geographic variations, having different patterns of reproduction according to its geographical location. Despite these extremely interesting characteristics, no more detailed study of the hormonal control of the reproduction of this species has been conducted. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the variations in serum hormone concentrations and in uterine hormonal control of this bat during its different reproductive phases. Twenty adult females were collected, divided into four (4) sample groups, according to the reproductive status (nonreproductive, initial, and advanced pregnancy and lactating), and submitted to hormone dosage and immunohistochemical analyses. The results demonstrated that the uterus of M. nigricans is strongly regulated by the interaction/cross-talk between serum concentrations of estradiol (E2) and progesterone with their respective hormone receptors. Significant increases in the concentration of E2 and progesterone are needed to regulate the early pregnancy. The persistence of the corpus luteum throughout pregnancy is necessary, since its placenta does not express aromatase. The expressions of ERα and PR appear to be synchronized in order to coordinate a large portion of the processes that occur inside the uterus of M. nigricans during pregnancy and lactation.
黑足鼠耳蝠是一种翼手目蝙蝠科动物，分布于新热带界。它以食虫为食，其猎物种类繁多，地理分布广泛，群体庞大，行为拟人化，因此是一种重要的生态媒介，在控制夜间昆虫方面发挥着重要作用。在繁殖方面，黑足鼠耳蝠存在地理变异，根据其地理位置的不同，其繁殖模式也不同。尽管具有这些非常有趣的特征，但对该物种的激素控制生殖的详细研究尚未进行。因此，本研究旨在评估该蝙蝠在不同繁殖阶段血清激素浓度和子宫激素控制的变化。采集了 20 只成年雌性蝙蝠，根据繁殖状态（非繁殖、初始妊娠、晚期妊娠和哺乳期）分为 4 个样本组，并进行了激素剂量和免疫组织化学分析。结果表明，黑足鼠耳蝠的子宫受到血清中雌二醇（E2）和孕酮浓度及其各自激素受体相互作用/串扰的强烈调节。需要显著增加 E2 和孕酮的浓度才能调节早期妊娠。妊娠期间黄体的持续存在是必要的，因为其胎盘不表达芳香酶。ERα 和 PR 的表达似乎是同步的，以便协调黑足鼠耳蝠在妊娠和哺乳期子宫内发生的大部分过程。
