Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 21, 2025
In Vitro Culture Strategy for Oocytes from Early Antral Follicle in Cattle
Published on: July 8, 2020
Bovine salpingitis: Histopathology, bacteriology, cytology and transcriptomic approaches and its impact on the oocyte
Mohammad Sadeghi1, Mehdi Azari1, Mojtaba Kafi1
1Department of Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
Insights
Bovine salpingitis, often linked to endometritis and bacterial infections like E. coli, impairs oocyte maturation and fertilization. Gene expression of cytokines (IL1β, CD14, IL8) and CASP3 is altered, affecting fertility.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Medicine
- Reproductive Biology
- Bovine Health
Background:
- Salpingitis, oviduct inflammation in cows, is frequently associated with endometritis.
- Bacterial co-infections, particularly Escherichia coli and Fusobacterium necrophorum, correlate with severe salpingitis.
- The impact of salpingitis on bovine oocyte quality and fertilization is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the histopathology, cytology, bacteriology, and cytokine gene expression in oviducts of cows with inflammation.
- To evaluate the effect of oviductal fluid from salpingitis-affected cows on in vitro oocyte maturation and fertilization.
Main Methods:
- Histopathological, cytological, and bacteriological examination of oviducts.
- Quantitative real-time PCR to assess mRNA expression of cytokines (IL1β, CD14, IL8) and CASP3.
- In vitro assessment of oocyte maturation and fertilization using oviductal fluid from healthy and salpingitis-affected cows.
Main Results:
- A high prevalence of salpingitis (96%) was observed in cows with endometritis.
- Significantly altered mRNA expression of IL1β, CD14, IL8, and CASP3 was noted in salpingitis cases, increasing with severity.
- Oviductal fluid from salpingitis cows significantly reduced oocyte peripheral mitochondria and fertilization rates.
Conclusions:
- Histologically diagnosed salpingitis in cows is strongly linked to endometritis.
- Altered cytokine and chemokine gene expression patterns correlate with salpingitis severity.
- Bovine salpingitis negatively impacts oocyte quality and fertilization potential, highlighting its reproductive implications.
Abstract:
The present study was performed to examine the histopathology, cytology, bacteriology and expression pattern of a targeted set of genes of cytokines in the oviduct of cows with inflammation (Experiment 1). In addition, the effects of oviductal fluid from cows with salpingitis on the oocyte maturation and fertilization in vitro were examined (Experiment 2). The most frequent bacterial co-infection was Escherichia coli and Fusobacterium necrophorum, which was always associated with severe histopathologic salpingitis. Out of 15 cows with histologically healthy uterus, only one cow (6.7%) displayed the histologic signs of mild salpingitis, whereas from 50 cows with endometritis, 48 cows (96%) showed histologically different grades of salpingitis. The mRNA expression of IL1β, CD14, IL8 and CASP3 was significantly different among all groups of salpingitis (P < 0.05) with the highest level of mRNA expression in the sever grade of salpingitis. Results of experiment 2 showed a significant decline in the oocytes with peripheral free mitochondria and fertilization rate in the salpingitis group than the no- salpingitis group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, our results showed that histologically detected salpingitis is in most cases associated with histologic and cytologic endometritis. The pattern of the gene expression of chemokines and cytokines was altered in association with different grades of salpingitis. Further, we observed a decline in the peripherally located mitochondria and lower fertilization rate in oocytes following addition of oviductal fluid collected from the cows with sapingitis to the maturation media.
