Calcitonin administration improves endometrial receptivity via regulation of LIF, Muc-1 and microRNA Let-7a in mice

Ligustilide enhances pregnancy outcomes via improvement of endometrial receptivity and promotion of endometrial angiogenesis in rats

Ligustilide (LIG) is the main active ingredient of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, which could promote focal angiogenesis to exert neuroprotection. However, there was no report that verified the exact effects of LIG on endometrial angiogenesis and the pregnancy outcomes. To explore the effects of LIG on low endometrial receptivity (LER) and angiogenesis, pregnancy rats were assigned into Control (saline treatment), LER (hydroxyurea-adrenaline treatment), LIG 20 mg/kg and LIG 40 mg/kg groups. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was performed to evaluate endometrial morphology. Quantitative real-time PCR, immunofluorescence staining, western blot and immunohistochemistry staining were employed to assess the expression of endometrial receptivity factors and angiogenesis-related gene/protein, respectively. RNA sequencing was used to analyze the effects of LIG on LER caused by Kidney deficiency and blood stasis. We found that endometrial thickness and the implanted embryo number were substantially reduced in the hydroxyurea-adrenaline-treated pregnancy rats. At the same time, the gene and protein expressions of ERα, LIF, VEGFA and CD31 in the endometrium were markedly reduced, while the expressions of MUC1, E-cadherin were increased in the LER group. Administration of LIG raised the endometrial thickness and implanted embryos, as well as reversed the expressions of these factors. Collectively, our findings revealed that LIG could facilitate embryo implantation via recovery of the endometrium receptivity and promotion of endometrial angiogenesis.

Expression of HOXA10 Gene in Women with Endometriosis: A Systematic Review

The homeobox A10 (HOXA10) gene is known to be related to endometriosis; however, due to a lack of knowledge/evidence in the pathogenesis of endometriosis, the mechanisms that link HOXA10 to endometriosis still need to be clarified. This review addresses the difference in the expression of the HOXA10 gene in endometriotic women versus non-endometriotic women across populations by country and discusses its influences on women's fertility. An organized search of electronic databases was conducted in Scopus, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Web of Science. The keywords used were (HOXA10 OR "homeobox A10" OR PL OR HOX1 OR HOX1H OR HOX1.8) AND ("gene expression") AND (endometriosis). The initial search resulted in 623 articles, 10 of which were included in this review. All ten papers included in this study were rated fair in terms of the quality of the studies conducted. The expression of the HOXA10 gene was found to be downregulated in most studies. However, one study provided evidence of the downregulation and upregulation of HOXA10 gene expression due to the localization of endometriotic lesions. Measuring the expression of the HOXA10 gene in women is clinically essential to predicting endometriosis, endometrial receptivity, and the development of pinopodes in the endometrium during the luteal phase.

Expression pattern and clinical significance of microRNA-let-7a and IFN-gamma in placental tissue of patients with preeclampsia with severe features

OBJECTIVES

Preeclampsia with severe features (PECsf) is a common disease in pregnant women. let-7a and IFN-gamma (interferon-gamma) are involved in diagnosis and prognosis of preeclampsia. This study explored effects of let-7a and IFN-gamma on PECsf patients.

METHODS

The placental tissue of 21 PECsf, 19 preeclampsia without severe features (PEC), and 20 normal pregnant women were collected, and clinical data were recorded. let-7a and IFN-gamma expressions in placental tissue were detected. The correlation between let-7a/IFN-gamma expression and clinical indexes was analyzed. According to let-7a and IFN-gamma expressions, PECsf patients were assigned into Hlet-7a group (let-7a high expression group), Llet-7a group (let-7a low expression group), HIFN-gamma group (IFN-gamma high expression group) and LIFN-gamma group (IFN-gamma low expression group). The incidence of adverse prognosis was compared.

RESULTS

let-7a and IFN-gamma were highly expressed in placental tissue of preeclampsia patients, with significant differences between PEC and PECsf. The high expressions of let-7a and IFN-gamma were positively correlated with mean arterial pressure, lactate dehydrogenase, and 24 h urinary protein in placental tissues of PECsf patients. High let-7a and IFN-gamma expressions were correlated with adverse outcomes of PECsf.

CONCLUSIONS

High let-7a and IFN-gamma expressions were correlated with clinical features, and could be used as biomarkers for treatment and poor prognosis of PECsf.

Role of endometrial microRNAs in repeated implantation failure (mini-review)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play various roles in the implantation and pregnancy process. Abnormal regulation of miRNAs leads to reproductive disorders such as repeated implantation failure (RIF). During the window of implantation, different miRNAs are released from the endometrium, which can potentially reflect the status of the endometrium for in vitro fertilization (IVF). The focus of this review is to determine whether endometrial miRNAs may be utilized as noninvasive biomarkers to predict the ability of endometrium to implant and provide live birth during IVF cycles. The levels of certain miRNAs in the endometrium have been linked to implantation potential and pregnancy outcomes in previous studies. Endometrial miRNAs could be employed as non-invasive biomarkers in the assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycle to determine the optimal time for implantation. Few human studies have evaluated the association between ART outcomes and endometrial miRNAs in RIF patients. This review may pave the way for more miRNA transcriptomic studies on human endometrium and introduce a specific miRNA profile as a multivariable prediction model for choosing the optimal time in the IVF cycle.

High-frequency electroacupuncture improves endometrial receptivity via regulating cell adhesion molecules and leukemia inhibitory factor / signal transducer and activator of transcription signaling pathway

Controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) impairs the endometrium receptivity during the implantation window, resulting in a lower clinical pregnancy rate and a higher abortion rate. Our study explored the effect of electroacupuncture on the endometrial receptivity of COH rats. Female rats were randomly divided into normal treatment (Normal), model treatment (Model), low-frequency electroacupuncture treatment (LF-EA) and high-frequency electroacupuncture treatment (HF-EA). Rats in the Model, LF-EA, and HF-EA treatment groups were injected with pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) to establish a model of COH rats. Compared with the Normal, the endometrial thickness, the number of pinopodes and amount of blastocyst implantation in the Model group were significantly reduced. Among them, the endometrial thickness and the amount of blastocyst implantation in the Model group were substantially decreased than those in the HF-EA group. High-frequency electroacupuncture treatment could markedly reduce the protein expression levels of E-cadherin, β-catenin and claudin-1 (CLDN1). During HF-EA treatment, the LIF/STAT3 signaling pathway of COH rats was enhanced. In conclusion, electroacupuncture could improve the endometrium receptivity and promote the blastocyst implantation in COH rats by reducing cell adhesion molecules and enhancing the LIF/STAT3 signaling pathway.Highlights High-frequency electroacupuncture could effectively improve endometrial receptivity and blastocyst implantation amount in COH rats.Electroacupuncture, especially high-frequency electroacupuncture, could significantly increase endometrial thickness and the number of pinopodes.High-frequency electroacupuncture significantly reduced the protein expression levels of E-cadherin, β-catenin and CLDN1 adhesion molecules in COH rats.High-frequency electroacupuncture could markedly enhance the LIF/STAT3 signaling pathway in COH rats.

miR223-3p, HAND2, and LIF expression regulated by calcitonin in the ERK1/2-mTOR pathway during the implantation window in the endometrium of mice

PROBLEM

Approximately one-third of infertility cases are related to the female partner, and implantation failure is the primary reason for female infertility. The current research was established to assess the impact of calcitonin on endometrial receptivity.

METHODS OF STUDY

64 female BALB/c mice were assigned to 2 groups as follows: mice with regular ovarian cycle and mice with stimulated ovarian cycle. The two groups were further divided into four subgroups as follows: control (Ctrl), calcitonin (CT), pp242, and CT + pp242 groups. Calcitonin and pp242 were injected on days 3, 4, and 5 of pregnancy. On day 5 of gestation, all of the animals were sacrificed, and their uterine was removed for the morphological analysis, as well as the expression assessment genes and proteins.

RESULTS

The results demonstrated that ovarian stimulation increased the rate of phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and mTOR proteins, and resulted in the upregulation of miR-223-3p. The administration of calcitonin also elevated the expression levels of LIF and HAND2 gene in both regular ovarian and ovarian-stimulated cycles. In ovarian-stimulated groups, the administration of calcitonin led to a decrease in the expression of miR-223-3p. Calcitonin administration also markedly increased the phosphorylation of 4EBP1 and ERK1/2 in the regular ovarian cycle.

CONCLUSION

It seems that calcitonin is capable of enhancing the endometrial receptivity of the uterine, thereby the overexpression of HAND2 and LIF and downregulation of miR-223-3p through the ERK1/2-mTOR signaling pathway.

Influence of Follicular Fluid and Seminal Plasma on The Expression of Endometrial Receptivity Genes in Endometrial Cells

Objective

Endometrial receptivity plays a key role in pregnancy success in assisted reproduction cycles. Recent evidence suggests that seminal plasma (SP) and follicular fluid (FF) influence the uterine endometrium to improve implantation of the embryo and the establishment of pregnancy. In this study, we attempt to assess the influence of FF and SP on the expression levels of main endometrial receptivity genes (HOXA10, HOXA11, ITGAV, ITGB3 and LIF) in endometrial stromal cells.

Materials and Methods

In this experimental study, SP and FF were collected from 15 healthy fertile men and 15 healthy fertile women, respectively. Tissue specimens of the endometrium were obtained from 12 women undergoing hysterectomy for benign conditions. After endometrial stromal cell isolation and culture, dose- and time-dependent cytotoxic effects of pooled FF and SP on 3D-cultured endometrial cells were evaluated. A second independent set of 12 endometrium samples was treated under determined optimum conditions and evaluated for gene expression analysis using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).

Results

The results of this study indicated that exposure of endometrial stromal cells to FF resulted in the elevated expression of HOXA10 (fold change=2.6, P=0.02), HOXA11 (fold change=3.3, P=0.002), LIF (fold change=4.6, P=0.0003), ITGB3 (fold change=3.5, P=0.012), and ITGAV (fold change=2.8, P=0.001) compared to untreated cells. In addition, we found that SP-treated endometrial cells showed increased mRNA levels of only the LIF gene (fold change=2.5, P=0.008) compared to untreated cells.

Conclusion

Human SP and FF may modulate the endometrial receptivity and improve the implantation rate in assisted reproduction cycles through the up-regulation of endometrial receptivity genes.

Administration of dexamethasone disrupts endometrial receptivity by alteration of expression of miRNA 223, 200a, LIF, Muc1, SGK1, and ENaC via the ERK1/2-mTOR pathway

Successful implantation of embryos requires endometrial receptivity. Glucocorticoids are one of the factors influencing the implantation window. In this study, 40 female BALB/c mice were used to study the impacts of dexamethasone administration on endometrial receptivity markers during implantation window. The mice mated and were randomly divided into four groups: control (vehicle), dexamethasone (100 μg/kg, IP), PP242 (30 mg/kg, IP), and dexamethasone + PP242 (Dex + PP242). On the Day 4th and 5th of gestation, mice received their respective treatments and were killed on the 5th day. To assess the expression of Muc1, leukemia inflammatory inhibitor (LIF), serum/glucocorticoid-inducible kinase 1 (SGK1), epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC), miRNA 200a, and miRNA 223-3p in the endometrium real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed. Furthermore, using Western blot analysis protein expressions of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1) were evaluated. Periodic Acid-Schiff staining was used to examine the histomorphological changes of the uterus. According to the results dexamethasone declined the expression of LIF, whereas upregulated expression of Muc1, SGK1, ENaC mRNA, miRNA 200a, and miRNA 223-3p in the endometrium. In addition, PP242, an mTOR inhibitor, induced mRNA expression of Muc1, miRNA200a, and miRNa223-3p whereas it declined the expression of LIF. Moreover, activity of the ERK1/2-mTOR pathway in the endometrial cells was deterred by dexamethasone and PP242. Nonstop epithelium proliferation and elevated surface glycoproteins layer on epithelium of dexamethasone and/or PP242-received groups were divulged through histochemical analysis. According to the above mentioned results, uterine receptivity during implantation period was declined by dexamethasone, at least in part, through modulation of involved genes in endometrial receptivity and inhibition of the ERK1/2-mTOR pathway.