Centro de Microscopia Eletrônica, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Campus Soane Nazare de Andrade, 45662-900, Ilhéus, Brazil.
Hospital Veterinário, Departamento de Ciências Agrarias e Ambientais, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Campus Soane Nazare de Andrade, 45662-900, Ilhéus, Brazil.
Theriogenology. 2023 Oct 15;210:234-243. doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2023.08.001. Epub 2023 Aug 2.
Sex steroids and antioxidant enzymes modulate uterine and placental physiology. Failures in the expression, signaling, and/or secretion of these mediators are associated with female infertility and gestational problems. However, there is no data on the expression profile of receptors for sex steroids and antioxidant enzymes in the maternal-fetal interface of domestic cats. Uterus and placenta samples from non-pregnant diestrus cats and cats in mid- and late pregnancy were used to analyze the protein and gene expression of the receptors for estrogen alpha (ERα), progesterone (PR), and androgen (AR) and the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1) by immunohistochemistry and qPCR. Higher uterine expression of ERα, Pr, and Sod1 was observed in the pregnant cats, especially in mid-pregnancy, compared to non-pregnant diestrus cats, as well as reduced endometrial catalase immunostaining. In the placenta, the mRNA expression of Erα, Pr, Ar, and Gpx1 was higher in late pregnancy in relation to mid-pregnancy. Moreover, weak or no placental expression was observed for catalase in mid- and late pregnancy, while strong immunostaining was observed for AR in trophoblasts and decidual cells in mid-pregnancy. The findings of this study demonstrated that pregnancy in female cats increases the uterine expression of sex steroid receptors and antioxidant enzymes, and that the placental expression of these mediators varies according to gestational age.
性激素和抗氧化酶调节子宫和胎盘的生理功能。这些介质的表达、信号传递和/或分泌出现故障与雌性不孕和妊娠问题有关。然而，关于性激素和抗氧化酶在猫的母体-胎儿界面的受体的表达谱，目前还没有数据。本研究使用非妊娠发情期和妊娠中期及晚期的猫的子宫和胎盘样本，通过免疫组织化学和 qPCR 分析雌激素受体 alpha（ERα）、孕激素（PR）和雄激素（AR）的受体以及超氧化物歧化酶 1（SOD1）、过氧化氢酶和谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶 1（GPX1）的蛋白和基因表达。与非妊娠发情期的猫相比，妊娠猫的子宫中 ERα、Pr 和 Sod1 的表达更高，尤其是在妊娠中期，而子宫内膜过氧化氢酶免疫染色减少。在胎盘组织中，与妊娠中期相比，晚期妊娠的 Erα、Pr、Ar 和 Gpx1 的 mRNA 表达更高。此外，在妊娠中期和晚期，胎盘组织中过氧化氢酶的表达较弱或缺失，而在妊娠中期，滋养层和蜕膜细胞中 AR 的免疫染色较强。本研究的结果表明，猫的妊娠增加了子宫中性激素受体和抗氧化酶的表达，这些介质的胎盘表达随妊娠年龄而变化。
