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Caram DA, Inserra PIF, Vitullo AD, Leopardo NP. Autophagy favors survival of corpora lutea during the long-lasting pregnancy of the South American plains vizcacha, Lagostomus maximus (Rodentia, Caviomorpha). Sci Rep 2024; 14:11220. [PMID: 38755206 PMCID: PMC11099099 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61478-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The corpus luteum (CL) is a transient endocrine gland that plays a crucial role in establishing and maintaining pregnancy. Although autophagy and apoptosis have been suggested as cooperative mechanisms, their interaction within the CL of pregnant mammals has not been thoroughly investigated. To understand the collaborative function of autophagy and apoptosis in the CL, we analyzed both mechanisms during pregnancy in the South American plains vizcacha, Lagostomus maximus. This rodent undergoes a decline in progesterone levels during mid-gestation, a reactivation of the hypothalamus-hypophysis-gonadal axis, and the incorporation of new functional secondary CL. Our analysis of autophagy markers BECLIN 1 (BECN1), SEQUESTOSOME1 (SQSTM1), Microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3B), and lysosomal-associated membrane protein 1 (LAMP1) and anti- and pro-apoptotic markers BCL2 and ACTIVE CASPASE 3 (A-C3) revealed interactive behaviors between both processes. Healthy primary and secondary CL exhibited positive expression of BECN1, SQSTM1, LC3B, and LAMP1, while regressed CL displayed enhanced expression of these autophagy markers along with nuclear A-C3. Transmission electron microscopy revealed a significant formation of autophagic vesicles in regressed CL during full-term pregnancy, whereas healthy CL exhibited a low number of autophagy vesicles. The co-localization between LC3B and SQSTM1 and LC3B with LAMP1 was observed in both healthy and regressed CL during pregnancy, while co-localization of BECN1 and BCL2 was only detected in healthy CL. LC3B and ACTIVE CASPASE 3 co-localization were detected in a subset of luteal cells within the regressing CL. We propose that autophagy could act as a survival mechanism in the CL, allowing the pregnancy to progress until full-term, while also serving as a mechanism to eliminate remnants of regressed CL, thereby providing the necessary space for subsequent follicular maturation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daira A Caram
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Pablo I F Inserra
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Alfredo D Vitullo
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Noelia P Leopardo
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Cortasa SA, Inserra PFI, Proietto S, Corso MC, Schmidt AR, Vitullo AD, Dorfman VB, Halperin J. Achieving full-term pregnancy in the vizcacha relies on a reboot of luteal steroidogenesis in mid-gestation (Lagostomus maximus, Rodentia). PLoS One 2022; 17:e0271067. [PMID: 35802690 PMCID: PMC9269958 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Reactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis triggered by the decline in serum progesterone in mid-gestation is an uncommon trait that distinguishes the vizcacha from most mammals. Accessory corpora lutea (aCL) developed upon this event have been proposed as guarantors of the restoration of the progesterone levels necessary to mantain gestation. Therefore, the steroidogenic input of primary CL (pCL) vs aCL was evaluated before and after HPO axis-reactivation (BP and AP respectively) and in term pregnancy (TP). Nonpregnant-ovulated females (NP) were considered as the pCL-starting point group. In BP, the ovaries mainly showed pCL, whose LH receptor (LHR), StAR, 3β-HSD, 20α-HSD, and VEGF immunoexpressions were similar or lower than those of NP. In AP, luteal reactivity increased significantly compared to the previous stages, and the pool of aCL developed in this stage represented 20% of the ovarian structures, equaling the percentage of pCL. Both pCL and aCL luteal cells shared similar histological features consistent with secretory activity. Although pCL and aCL showed equivalent labeling intensity for the luteotropic markers, pCL were significantly larger than aCL. Towards TP, both showed structural disorganization and loss of secretory characteristics. No significant DNA fragmentation was detected in luteal cells throughout gestation. Our findings indicate that the LH surge derived from HPO axis-reactivation targets the pCL and boost luteal steroidogenesis and thus progesterone production. Because there are many LHR-expressing antral follicles in BP, they also respond to the LH stimuli and luteinize without extruding the oocyte. These aCL certainly contribute but it is the steroidogenic restart of the pCL that is the main force that restores progesterone levels, ensuring that gestation is carried to term. Most importantly, the results of this work propose luteal steroidogenesis reboot as a key event in the modulation of vizcacha pregnancy and depict yet another distinctive aspect of its reproductive endocrinology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santiago Andrés Cortasa
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD) Universidad Maimónides, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Pablo Felipe Ignacio Inserra
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD) Universidad Maimónides, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sofía Proietto
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD) Universidad Maimónides, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - María Clara Corso
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD) Universidad Maimónides, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Alejandro Raúl Schmidt
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD) Universidad Maimónides, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Alfredo Daniel Vitullo
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD) Universidad Maimónides, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Verónica Berta Dorfman
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD) Universidad Maimónides, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Julia Halperin
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD) Universidad Maimónides, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- * E-mail:
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Barbeito CG, Acuña F, Miglino MA, Portiansky EL, Flamini MA. Placentation and embryo death in the plains viscacha (Lagostomus maximus). Placenta 2021; 108:97-102. [PMID: 33857820 DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2021.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Revised: 03/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Caviomorpha are an exceptional group among rodents due to their extended gestational period and the delivery of precocial offspring. Among them, Lagostomus maximus is characterized by its polyovulation, polyembryony, and the highest embryonic death known in mammals. Its chorioallantoic placenta is hemomonochorial, an ancestral character among rodents. It resembles more the human placenta than the murine models. As in all caviomophs, the chorioallantoic placenta is divided in a main placenta and a subplacenta. The former is organized in labyrinth lobes surrounded by trophospongium, as in most caviomorphs. The giant cells (more numerous than in other caviomorphs) near the decidua could be related to invasiveness. During placentation of L. maximus, uterine natural killer cells are found. These cells have been related to invasiveness and remodeling of blood vessels in Mus musculus and Homo sapiens, although in other caviomorphs are not frequently found. In L. maximus, the placenta develops in all conceptuses (5-6 per uterine horn). Necrosis was observed in each implantation site at day 70 post-coitum, except in that closest to the vagina in each horn. This process of embryo death followed by resorption begins at day 26-30 post-coitum. Recently, we found variations in the percentage of blood vessel and uterine gland areas that could explain the regional differences in embryo survival. The characteristics of the placenta and implantation of L. maximus are important to stablish a unique model for studying placentation as well as early embryonic death, of interest for human and veterinary medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Gustavo Barbeito
- Laboratory of Descriptive, Experimental and Comparative, Histology and Embryology, Argentina; National Council of Scientific and Technical Research, CCT-La Plata, Argentina.
| | - Francisco Acuña
- Laboratory of Descriptive, Experimental and Comparative, Histology and Embryology, Argentina; National Council of Scientific and Technical Research, CCT-La Plata, Argentina
| | | | - Enrique Leo Portiansky
- National Council of Scientific and Technical Research, CCT-La Plata, Argentina; Image Analysis Laboratory, School of Veterinary Sciences, National University of La Plata, Argentina
| | - Mirta Alicia Flamini
- Laboratory of Descriptive, Experimental and Comparative, Histology and Embryology, Argentina
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Nutritional deficiency and placenta calcification underlie constitutive, selective embryo loss in pregnant South American plains vizcacha, Lagostomus maximus (Rodentia, Caviomorpha). Theriogenology 2020; 155:77-87. [DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2020.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Revised: 05/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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Inserra PIF, Charif SE, Fidel V, Giacchino M, Schmidt AR, Villarreal FM, Proietto S, Cortasa SA, Corso MC, Gariboldi MC, Leopardo NP, Fraunhoffer NA, Di Giorgio NP, Lux-Lantos VA, Halperin J, Vitullo AD, Dorfman VB. The key action of estradiol and progesterone enables GnRH delivery during gestation in the South American plains vizcacha, Lagostomus maximus. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2020; 200:105627. [PMID: 32070756 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2020.105627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Revised: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The South American plains vizcacha, Lagostomus maximus, is the only mammal described so far that shows expression of estrogen receptors (ERs) and progesterone receptors (PRs) in gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons. This animal therefore constitutes an exceptional model for the study of the effect of steroid hormones on the modulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis. By using both in vivo and ex vivo approaches, we have found that pharmacological doses of progesterone (P4) and estradiol (E2) produced an inhibition in the expression of hypothalamic GnRH, while physiological doses produced a differential effect on the pulsatile release frequency or genomic expression of GnRH. Our ex vivo experiment indicates that a short-term effect of E2 modulates the frequency of GnRH release pattern that would be associated with membrane ERs. On the other hand, our in vivo approach suggests that a long-term effect of E2, acting through the classical nuclear ERs-PRs pathway, would produce the modification of GnRH mRNA expression during the GnRH pre-ovulatory surge. Particularly, P4 induced a rise in GnRH mRNA expression and protein release with a decrease in its release frequency. These results suggest different levels of action of steroid hormones on GnRH modulation. We conclude that the fine action of E2 and P4 constitute the key factor to enable the hypothalamic activity during the pregnancy of this mammal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo I F Inserra
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina(2); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
| | - Santiago E Charif
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina(2); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
| | - Victoria Fidel
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina(2)
| | - Mariela Giacchino
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina(2); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
| | - Alejandro R Schmidt
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina(2); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
| | - Federico M Villarreal
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina(2)
| | - Sofía Proietto
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina(2); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
| | - Santiago A Cortasa
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina(2); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
| | - María C Corso
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina(2); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
| | - María C Gariboldi
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina(2); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
| | - Noelia P Leopardo
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina(2); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
| | - Nicolás A Fraunhoffer
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina(2); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
| | - Noelia P Di Giorgio
- Laboratorio de Neuroendocrinología, Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (IByME)-CONICET, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Victoria A Lux-Lantos
- Laboratorio de Neuroendocrinología, Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (IByME)-CONICET, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Julia Halperin
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina(2); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
| | - Alfredo D Vitullo
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina(2); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina
| | - Verónica B Dorfman
- Centro de Estudios Biomédicos Básicos, Aplicados y Desarrollo (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina(2); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Argentina.
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