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A Tissue Culture Model of Estrogen-producing Primary Bovine Granulosa Cells
Published on: September 6, 2018
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Progesterone differentially affects the transcriptomic profiles of cow endometrial cell types
Gonçalo Pereira1, Yongzhi Guo2, Elisabete Silva1
1CIISA-Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477, Lisbon, Portugal.
BMC Genomics
|January 28, 2022
Summary
Progesterone regulates cow endometrium in a cell-specific manner, impacting gene expression differently in luminal epithelial, glandular epithelial, and stromal cells. This highlights the importance of individual cell types in uterine physiology.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Biology
- Molecular Endocrinology
- Genomics
Background:
- The bovine endometrium comprises luminal epithelial (LE), glandular epithelial (GE), and stromal (ST) cells, undergoing dynamic progesterone-regulated changes.
- Previous transcriptomic studies in cows focused on whole endometrial tissue, lacking cell-specific insights.
- This study investigates cell-specific gene expression and progesterone's impact on GE and ST cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To delineate cell-specific transcriptomic profiles within the bovine endometrium.
- To identify how progesterone influences gene expression in glandular epithelial (GE) and stromal (ST) cells.
- To understand the cell-type-specific mechanisms of progesterone action in the uterine lining.
Main Methods:
- Isolation of endometrial cell types (LE, GE, ST) via laser capture microdissection.
- Transcriptomic analysis to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in response to progesterone.
- Comparative analysis of gene expression patterns across distinct endometrial cell populations.
Main Results:
- Endometrial LE, GE, and ST cells exhibit unique transcriptomic signatures.
- Progesterone predominantly induces cell type-specific gene expression changes (96% of DEGs).
- Progesterone exhibits anti-proliferative effects on GE cells by down-regulating cell cycle and nuclear division genes.
- Progesterone influences estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) and oxytocin receptor (OXTR) expression in GE and ST cells.
- Progesterone up-regulates SOX17 and FOXA2 transcription factors in ST cells, crucial for uterine receptivity.
Conclusions:
- Progesterone orchestrates endometrial function through cell-specific mechanisms, independent of its primary receptor (PGR) expression.
- The cell compartment, not the whole tissue, should be considered the functional physiological unit in uterine studies.
- These findings offer novel insights into bovine uterine physiology and progesterone's regulatory roles.
