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Updated: Aug 15, 2026
Microdissection and Dissociation of the Murine Oviduct: Individual Segment Identification and Single Cell Isolation
Published on: November 4, 2021
Expression of human oviductin in an immortalized human oviductal cell line
Ling Ling1, Yin-Lau Lee, Kai-Fai Lee
1Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Objective:
To determine whether OE-E6/E7, an immortalized human oviductal epithelial cell line, expresses oviductin messenger RNA (mRNA) and its translated protein.
Design:
Transmission electron microscopy was employed to characterize the morphology of OE-E6/E7 cells followed by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of oviductin mRNA and sequencing of the nested-PCR product. Confocal microscopy was used, using a polyclonal antibody against human oviductin and Con A as a marker for mannose residues, to reveal the colocalization of human oviduct-specific glycoprotein with the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi compartments.
Setting:
University-based anatomy and cell biology department.
Patient(S):
Women undergoing laparoscopy for tubal ligation or hysterectomy due to uterine fibroma.
Intervention(S):
An immortalized OE-E6/E7 cell line was previously established using human oviductal epithelial cells. Electron microscopy, RT-PCR, sequencing, immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy were performed.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
The presence of human oviductin mRNA and protein in OE-E6/E7 cells.
Result(S):
OE-E6/E7 cells retain morphological features characteristic of secretory cells and express human oviductin mRNA and its translated protein.
Conclusion(S):
OE-E6/E7 cells were characterized for the first time by electron microscopy and shown to exhibit histological features typical of secretory cells. Reverse-transcription PCR with sequencing and confocal microscopy showed, respectively, that human oviductin mRNA and protein are expressed in OE-E6/E7 cells. Our results suggest that OE-E6/E7 could be a useful tool for future studies of the function of human oviductin.
