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Classical estrogen signaling in ciliated epithelial cells of the oviduct is nonessential for fertility in female mice

ABSTRACT: 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 1 alpha (encoded by Esr1 gene) leads to infertility. Our laboratory has 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, E2 treatment had little impact on the gene expression profile of ciliated epithelial cells. To assess the requirement of ESR1 specifically in ciliated cells for female fertility, we 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. Therefore, more studies are required to definitively determine ESR1 function in ciliated cells of the oviduct. Nevertheless, our data suggest that ESR1 expression in ciliated cells of the oviduct is dispensable for ciliogenesis, but nonessential for female fertility in mice. All genes expressed in scRNA-seq datasets are available for scientific community and separable at https://www.winuthayanon.com/genes/ve2h_cilia/ and https://www.winuthayanon.com/genes/ve2h_allclusters/

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE244422 | GEO | 2023/11/09

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Purpose: To understand the relationship between ciliogenesis and autophagy in the corneal epithelium. Methods: siRNAs for EphA2 or PLD1 were used to inhibit protein expression in vitro. Morpholino-anti-EphA2 was used to knockdown EphA2 in Xenopus skin. An EphA2 knockout mouse was used to conduct loss of function studies. Autophagic vacuoles were visualized by contrast light microscopy. Autophagy flux, was measured by LC3 turnover and p62 protein levels. Immunostaining and confocal microscopy were conducted to visualize cilia in cultured cells and in vivo. Results: Loss of EphA2 (i) increased corneal epithelial thickness by elevating proliferative potential in wing cells, (ii) reduced the number of ciliated cells, (iii) increased large hollow vacuoles, that could be rescued by BafA1; (iv) inhibited autophagy flux and (v) increased GFP-LC3 puncta in the mouse corneal epithelium. This indicated a role for EphA2 in stratified epithelial assembly via regulation of proliferation as well as a positive role in both ciliogenesis and end-stage autophagy. Inhibition of PLD1, an EphA2 interacting protein that is a critical regulator of end-stage autophagy, reversed the accumulation of vacuoles, and the reduction in the number of ciliated cells due to EphA2 depletion, suggesting EphA2 regulation of both end-stage autophagy and ciliogenesis via PLD1. PLD1 mediated rescue of ciliogenesis by EphA2 depletion was blocked by BafA1, placing autophagy between EphA2 signaling and regulation of ciliogenesis. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate a novel role for EphA2 in regulating both autophagy and ciliogenesis, processes that are essential for proper corneal epithelial homeostasis. Purpose: To understand the relationship between ciliogenesis and autophagy in the corneal epithelium. Methods: siRNAs for EphA2 or PLD1 were used to inhibit protein expression in vitro. Morpholino-anti-EphA2 was used to knockdown EphA2 in Xenopus skin. An EphA2 knockout mouse was used to conduct loss of function studies. Autophagic vacuoles were visualized by contrast light microscopy. Autophagy flux, was measured by LC3 turnover and p62 protein levels. Immunostaining and confocal microscopy were conducted to visualize cilia in cultured cells and in vivo. Results: Loss of EphA2 (i) increased corneal epithelial thickness by elevating proliferative potential in wing cells, (ii) reduced the number of ciliated cells, (iii) increased large hollow vacuoles, that could be rescued by BafA1; (iv) inhibited autophagy flux and (v) increased GFP-LC3 puncta in the mouse corneal epithelium. This indicated a role for EphA2 in stratified epithelial assembly via regulation of proliferation as well as a positive role in both ciliogenesis and end-stage autophagy. Inhibition of PLD1, an EphA2 interacting protein that is a critical regulator of end-stage autophagy, reversed the accumulation of vacuoles, and the reduction in the number of ciliated cells due to EphA2 depletion, suggesting EphA2 regulation of both end-stage autophagy and ciliogenesis via PLD1. PLD1 mediated rescue of ciliogenesis by EphA2 depletion was blocked by BafA1, placing autophagy between EphA2 signaling and regulation of ciliogenesis. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate a novel role for EphA2 in regulating both autophagy and ciliogenesis, processes that are essential for proper corneal epithelial homeostasis.

Project description:E2 exposure significantly decreased peak viral titer in hNECs from female donors. We used microarray analyses to identify global gene expression patterns between E2 and vehicle exposed hNECs from female donors Influenza causes an acute infection characterized by virus replication in respiratory epithelial cells. The severity of influenza and other respiratory diseases changes over the life course and during pregnancy in women, suggesting that sex steroid hormones, such as estrogens, may be involved. Using primary, differentiated human nasal epithelial cell (hNEC) cultures from adult male and female donors, we exposed cultures to the endogenous 17Î²-estradiol (E2) or select estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), then infected cultures with a seasonal influenza A virus (IAV) to determine whether estrogenic signaling could affect the outcome of IAV infection and whether these effects where sex-dependent. Estradiol, raloxifene, and bisphenol A decreased IAV titers in hNECs from female, but not male, donors. The estrogenic decrease in viral titer was dependent on the genomic estrogen receptor- 2 (ESR2) as neither genomic ESR1 nor non- genomic GPR30 were expressed in hNEC cultures and addition of the genomic ER antagonist ICI 182,780 reversed the antiviral effects of E2. Treatment of hNECs with E2 had no effect on interferon or chemokine secretion, but significantly downregulated cell metabolic processes, including genes that encode for zinc finger proteins, many of which contain estrogen response elements in their promoters. These data provide novel insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms of how natural and synthetic estrogens impact IAV infection in respiratory epithelial cells derived from humans. Primary human nasal epithelial cells from females were exposed to E2 for 24h prior to infection, then infected with an H3N2 strain of influenza a virus for 2 hours. At 24 and 48h post infection, hNECs were collected in Trizol for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix Human Gene ST 2.0 microarrays.

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Classical estrogen signaling in ciliated epithelial cells of the oviduct is nonessential for fertility in female mice

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