Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, School of Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
Division of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
Endocrinology. 2023 Nov 20;165(1). doi: 10.1210/endocr/bqad163.
Ciliary action performs a critical role in the oviduct (Fallopian tube) during pregnancy establishment through sperm and egg transport. The disruption of normal ciliary function in the oviduct affects oocyte pick-up and is a contributing factor to female infertility. Estrogen is an important regulator of ciliary action in the oviduct and promotes ciliogenesis in several species. Global loss of estrogen receptor α (ESR1) leads to infertility. We have previously shown that ESR1 in the oviductal epithelial cell layer is required for female fertility. Here, we assessed the role of estrogen on transcriptional regulation of ciliated epithelial cells of the oviduct using single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis. We observed minor variations in ciliated cell genes in the proximal region (isthmus and uterotubal junction) of the oviduct. However, 17β-estradiol treatment had little impact on the gene expression profile of ciliated epithelial cells. We also conditionally ablated Esr1 from ciliated epithelial cells of the oviduct (called ciliated Esr1d/d mice). Our studies showed that ciliated Esr1d/d females had fertility rates comparable to control females, did not display any disruptions in preimplantation embryo development or embryo transport to the uterus, and had comparable cilia formation to control females. However, we observed some incomplete deletion of Esr1 in the ciliated epithelial cells, especially in the ampulla region. Nevertheless, our data suggest that ESR1 expression in ciliated cells of the oviduct is dispensable for ciliogenesis and nonessential for female fertility in mice.
纤毛运动在妊娠建立过程中通过精子和卵子运输在输卵管（输卵管）中起着关键作用。输卵管中正常纤毛功能的破坏会影响卵母细胞的采集，是女性不孕的一个因素。雌激素是输卵管纤毛运动的重要调节剂，可促进几种物种的纤毛发生。雌激素受体 α（ESR1）的全球缺失导致不孕。我们之前已经表明，输卵管上皮细胞层中的 ESR1 是雌性生育能力所必需的。在这里，我们使用单细胞 RNA 测序分析评估了雌激素对输卵管有纤毛上皮细胞转录调节的作用。我们观察到输卵管近端（峡部和输卵管子宫连接部）的纤毛细胞基因有微小变化。然而，17β-雌二醇处理对有纤毛上皮细胞的基因表达谱几乎没有影响。我们还从输卵管的有纤毛上皮细胞中条件性缺失 Esr1（称为有纤毛 Esr1d/d 小鼠）。我们的研究表明，有纤毛 Esr1d/d 雌性的生育能力与对照雌性相当，在着床前胚胎发育或胚胎向子宫的运输中没有任何异常，并且与对照雌性相比，有相似的纤毛形成。然而，我们观察到有纤毛上皮细胞中的 Esr1 不完全缺失，尤其是在壶腹区域。尽管如此，我们的数据表明，输卵管有纤毛细胞中的 ESR1 表达对于纤毛发生是可有可无的，并且对于小鼠的雌性生育力不是必需的。
