Regulation of protein and prostaglandin secretion in polarized primary cultures of caprine uterine epithelial cells.

Caprine uterine epithelial (UE) cells were cultured on Matrigel-coated filters. Transmission electron microscopy revealed polarized UE cells characterized by basally located nuclei, apical microvilli, convoluted lateral membranes, and junctional complexes. Domain-specific secretion of prostaglandins and radiolabeled proteins provide further evidence of functional epithelial cell polarity. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate factors controlling prostaglandin E2 (PGE) and prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF) secretion. In experiment one, steroid-treated (estradiol, progesterone, or estradiol + progesterone) polarized UE cells were treated with interferon tau (IFNtau) and/or oxytocin (OT). Steroid treatment did not influence PGE or PGF secretion. However, analysis of variance revealed an IFNtau by OT interaction (P < .01) for both PGE and PGF This interaction was caused by a reduction in PGE and PGF secretion by cultures receiving only IFNtau and the inability of IFNtau to block OT-induced release of PGE or PGF. In experiment 2, polarized UE cells were cultured in progesterone, with or without IFNtau, and sequentially challenged with estradiol and OT. Oxytocin stimulated the release of both PGE and PGF by polarized cUE cells (P < .01) and resulted in an increased accumulation of PGE (OTdomain; P < .01) in the basal compartment. Interferon tau did not influence PGE (P < .1) secretion. However, further analysis revealed that IFNtau reduced PGF secretion and was unable to block OT-induced PGF secretion (IFNtauOT; P < .05) by polarized UE cells. Therefore, caprine UE cells form polarized monolayers and retain responsiveness to IFNtau and OT in vitro.