In-vivo transfection of the female reproductive tract epithelium

Mouse female genital tract was transfected in vivo using the ss-galactosidase reporter gene. To transfect the female tract, DNA/liposome complexes were injected through the infundibulum of the oviducts of adult, immature, and pseudopregnant females. Females which were in different stages of the ovarian cycle were also employed. Transfection was analysed using histochemical, immunological and molecular (Southern blotting, polymerase chain reaction and gene sequencing) procedures. The lower region of the uterine glands and the oviduct epithelium in the isthmus and juncture regions were the most conspicuous transfected areas. The greatest numbers of transfected cells were 6% in the oviduct and 9% in the uterus, meanwhile the duration of expression reached a maximum of 7 days in the oviduct and 14 days in the uterus. The hormonal stage of the genital tract epithelium directly affected transfection, as the highest number of successful transfections occurred during the meta-oestrus and pseudopregnancy stages.