Combs David J, Moult Eric M, England Sarah K, Cohen Adam E
Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University.
bioRxiv. 2024 Apr 6:2024.02.02.578395. doi: 10.1101/2024.02.02.578395.
Uterine contraction patterns vary during the ovulatory cycle and throughout pregnancy but prior measurements have produced limited and conflicting information on these patterns. We combined a virally delivered genetically encoded calcium reporter (GCaMP8m) and ultra-widefield imaging in live nonpregnant mice to characterize uterine calcium dynamics at organ scale throughout the estrous cycle. Prior to ovulation (proestrus and estrus) uterine excitations primarily initiated in a region near the oviduct, but after ovulation (metestrus and diestrus), excitations initiated at loci homogeneously distributed throughout the organ. The frequency of excitation events was lowest in proestrus and estrus, higher in metestrus and highest in diestrus. These results establish a platform for mapping uterine activity, and show that the question of whether there is an anatomically localized trigger for uterine excitations depends on the estrous cycle phase.
子宫收缩模式在排卵周期和整个孕期会有所不同，但之前的测量结果在这些模式方面提供的信息有限且相互矛盾。我们将病毒递送的基因编码钙报告基因（GCaMP8m）与超宽视野成像相结合，用于在未怀孕的活体小鼠中表征整个发情周期内器官尺度上的子宫钙动力学。排卵前（动情前期和动情期），子宫兴奋主要在输卵管附近的一个区域开始，但排卵后（间情期和动情后期），兴奋在整个器官中均匀分布的位点开始。兴奋事件的频率在动情前期和动情期最低，在间情期较高，在动情后期最高。这些结果建立了一个用于绘制子宫活动的平台，并表明子宫兴奋是否存在解剖学上局部触发因素的问题取决于发情周期阶段。
