Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
School of Bioscience and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Via Gentile III da Varano, 62032 Macerata, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Oct 12;25(20):10986. doi: 10.3390/ijms252010986.
Several seminal plasma components, besides NGF, are implicated as ovulation-inducing factors in mammals. This study investigated the IL1B and its receptor IL1R1 in the testis (T), male accessory glands, prostate (P) and seminal vesicles (SV), and uterus (U) of adult rabbits using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR). We also assessed the presence of IL1B in seminal plasma through Western blotting (WB) and examined the interaction between IL1B and NGF in vitro by measuring their production with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the presence of NGF and IL1B alone or with their respective receptor antagonists. IHC revealed IL1B system expression in all reproductive organs studied, with IL1B and IL1R1 localized to the germinative epithelium of the T and the epithelial cells of the accessory glands and U. IL1B gene transcript levels were significantly higher ( < 0.01) in the P and SV compared to the T, while IL1R1 levels were significantly higher ( < 0.001) in the P compared to the other tissues, while IL1R1 levels were three times higher ( < 0.001) in the P. WB confirmed the presence of IL1B in seminal plasma with a 30-35 kDa band. The in vitro study demonstrated that IL1B increased ( < 0.05) basal NGF production in the U, whereas NGF had no effect on IL1B production. These findings provide evidence of the expression of the IL1B/IL1R1 system in both male and female rabbit reproductive tracts and suggest that IL1B in seminal plasma may influence uterine endocrine activity. The results propose a potential role for IL1B in ovulation, in conjunction with NGF, supporting that ovulation may involve inflammatory-like processes.
几种精浆成分，除了神经生长因子（NGF）外，还被认为是哺乳动物排卵诱导因子。本研究采用免疫组织化学（IHC）和定量逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR）技术，检测了成年兔睾丸（T）、附属性腺、前列腺（P）、精囊（SV）和子宫（U）中的白细胞介素 1β（IL1B）及其受体 IL1R1。我们还通过 Western blot（WB）检测了精液中的 IL1B 存在情况，并通过酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）在单独使用 NGF 和 IL1B 以及使用其各自的受体拮抗剂的情况下，测量其产生情况，评估了 IL1B 和 NGF 之间的体外相互作用。IHC 显示 IL1B 系统在所有研究的生殖器官中均有表达，IL1B 和 IL1R1 定位于 T 的生殖上皮和附属性腺和 U 的上皮细胞。与 T 相比，P 和 SV 中的 IL1B 基因转录水平显著升高（<0.01），而 P 中的 IL1R1 水平显著升高（<0.001），而 P 中的 IL1R1 水平是其他组织的三倍（<0.001）。WB 证实了精液中存在 IL1B，其分子量为 30-35 kDa。体外研究表明，IL1B 增加了 U 中的基础 NGF 产生（<0.05），而 NGF 对 IL1B 的产生没有影响。这些发现为兔生殖系统中 IL1B/IL1R1 系统的表达提供了证据，并表明精液中的 IL1B 可能影响子宫内分泌活动。结果表明，IL1B 与 NGF 一起在排卵中可能发挥作用，支持排卵可能涉及炎症样过程。
