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Dos Santos EC, Boyer A, St-Jean G, Jakuc N, Gévry N, Price CA, Zamberlam G. Is the Hippo Pathway Effector Yes-Associated Protein a Potential Key Player of Dairy Cattle Cystic Ovarian Disease Pathogenesis? Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2851. [PMID: 37760251 PMCID: PMC10525513 DOI: 10.3390/ani13182851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Cystic ovarian disease (COD) in dairy cattle is characterized by preovulatory follicles that become cysts, fail to ovulate and persist in the ovary; consequently, interfering with normal ovarian cyclicity. The intraovarian key players that orchestrate the alterations occurring in the preovulatory follicle and that culminate with cyst formation and persistence, however, remain uncertain. Interestingly, the Hippo pathway effector yes-associated protein (YAP) has been described in humans and mice as a key player of anovulatory cystic disorders. To start elucidating if YAP deregulation in ovarian follicle cells can be also involved in the pathogenesis of COD, we have generated a series of novel results using spontaneously occurring cystic follicles in cattle. We found that mRNA and protein levels of YAP are significantly higher in granulosa (GCs) and theca cells (TCs) isolated from cystic follicles (follicular structures of at least 20 mm in diameter) in comparison to respective cell types isolated from non-cystic large follicles (≥12 mm). In addition, immunohistochemistry and Western blot analyses used to determine YAP phosphorylation pattern suggest that YAP transcriptional activity is augmented is cystic GCs. These results were confirmed by a significant increase in the mRNA levels encoding for the classic YAP-TEAD transcriptional target genes CTGF, BIRC5 and ANKRD1 in GCs from follicle cysts in comparison to non-cystic large follicles. Taken together, these results provide considerable insight of a completely novel signaling pathway that seems to play an important role in ovarian cystic disease pathogenesis in dairy cattle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esdras Corrêa Dos Santos
- Centre de Recherche en Reproduction et Fertilité (CRRF), Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire (FMV), Université de Montréal (UdeM), Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 7C6, Canada
- Département de Biomédecine Vétérinaire, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire (FMV), Université de Montréal (UdeM), Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 7C6, Canada
| | - Alexandre Boyer
- Centre de Recherche en Reproduction et Fertilité (CRRF), Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire (FMV), Université de Montréal (UdeM), Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 7C6, Canada
- Département de Biomédecine Vétérinaire, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire (FMV), Université de Montréal (UdeM), Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 7C6, Canada
| | - Guillaume St-Jean
- Centre de Recherche en Reproduction et Fertilité (CRRF), Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire (FMV), Université de Montréal (UdeM), Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 7C6, Canada
- Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire (FMV), Université de Montréal (UdeM), Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 7C6, Canada
| | - Natalia Jakuc
- Centre de Recherche en Reproduction et Fertilité (CRRF), Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire (FMV), Université de Montréal (UdeM), Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 7C6, Canada
- Département de Biomédecine Vétérinaire, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire (FMV), Université de Montréal (UdeM), Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 7C6, Canada
| | - Nicolas Gévry
- Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 0A5, Canada
| | - Christopher A. Price
- Centre de Recherche en Reproduction et Fertilité (CRRF), Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire (FMV), Université de Montréal (UdeM), Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 7C6, Canada
- Département de Biomédecine Vétérinaire, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire (FMV), Université de Montréal (UdeM), Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 7C6, Canada
| | - Gustavo Zamberlam
- Centre de Recherche en Reproduction et Fertilité (CRRF), Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire (FMV), Université de Montréal (UdeM), Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 7C6, Canada
- Département de Biomédecine Vétérinaire, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire (FMV), Université de Montréal (UdeM), Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 7C6, Canada
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Dos Santos EC, Lalonde-Larue A, Antoniazzi AQ, Barreta MH, Price CA, Dias Gonçalves PB, Portela VM, Zamberlam G. YAP signaling in preovulatory granulosa cells is critical for the functioning of the EGF network during ovulation. Mol Cell Endocrinol 2022; 541:111524. [PMID: 34856345 DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2021.111524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Failure to ovulate is a major cause of infertility. The critical pathway that induces ovulation involves the EGF and MAPK phosphorylation, but studies in rodents have suggested that the Hippo activator, YAP, is also involved. It is unknown whether YAP-dependent transcriptional activity is important for the LH- or EGF-induced ovulatory cascade in monovulatory species such as the cow. Using a well-defined preovulatory GC culture system, we employed pharmacological inhibitors to demonstrate that YAP signaling is critical for expression of EGFR and downstream target genes EREG, EGR1 and TNFAIP6. Most importantly, by using an ultrasound guided follicle injection system, we also showed that the classic Hippo signaling inhibitor Verteporfin inhibits GnRH-induced ovulation in vivo in cattle. In conclusion, YAP transcriptional activity is critical for EGF-like cascade induced by LH to promote ovulation in a monovulatory species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esdras Corrêa Dos Santos
- Centre de recherche en reproduction et fertilité (CRRF), Faculté de médecine Vétérinaire (FMV), Université de Montréal (UdeM), Canada
| | - Ariane Lalonde-Larue
- Centre de recherche en reproduction et fertilité (CRRF), Faculté de médecine Vétérinaire (FMV), Université de Montréal (UdeM), Canada
| | - Alfredo Quites Antoniazzi
- Laboratory of Biotechnology and Animal Reproduction, BioRep, Veterinary Hospital, Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, 97105-900, Brazil
| | - Marcos Henrique Barreta
- Laboratory of Animal Reproduction Physiology, LAFRA, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Curitibanos, SC, 89520-000, Brazil
| | - Christopher A Price
- Centre de recherche en reproduction et fertilité (CRRF), Faculté de médecine Vétérinaire (FMV), Université de Montréal (UdeM), Canada
| | - Paulo Bayard Dias Gonçalves
- Laboratory of Biotechnology and Animal Reproduction, BioRep, Veterinary Hospital, Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, 97105-900, Brazil; Federal University of Pampa (Unipampa), Uruguaiana, RS, 97501-970, Brazil
| | - Valério Marques Portela
- Laboratory of Biotechnology and Animal Reproduction, BioRep, Veterinary Hospital, Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, 97105-900, Brazil
| | - Gustavo Zamberlam
- Centre de recherche en reproduction et fertilité (CRRF), Faculté de médecine Vétérinaire (FMV), Université de Montréal (UdeM), Canada.
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Lalonde-Larue A, Boyer A, Dos Santos EC, Boerboom D, Bernard DJ, Zamberlam G. The Hippo Pathway Effectors YAP and TAZ Regulate LH Release by Pituitary Gonadotrope Cells in Mice. Endocrinology 2022; 163:bqab238. [PMID: 34905605 PMCID: PMC8670590 DOI: 10.1210/endocr/bqab238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The Hippo transcriptional coactivators YAP and TAZ exert critical roles in morphogenesis, organ size determination and tumorigenesis in many tissues. Although Hippo kinase cascade activity was recently reported in the anterior pituitary gland in mice, the role of the Hippo effectors in regulating gonadotropin production remains unknown. The objective of this study was therefore to characterize the roles of YAP and TAZ in gonadotropin synthesis and secretion. Using a conditional gene targeting approach (cKO), we found that gonadotrope-specific inactivation of Yap and Taz resulted in increased circulating levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) in adult male mice, along with increased testosterone levels and testis weight. Female cKO mice had increased circulating LH (but not FSH) levels, which were associated with a hyperfertility phenotype characterized by higher ovulation rates and larger litter sizes. Unexpectedly, the loss of YAP/TAZ did not appear to affect the expression of gonadotropin subunit genes, yet both basal and GnRH-induced LH secretion were increased in cultured pituitary cells from cKO mice. Likewise, pharmacologic inhibition of YAP binding to the TEAD family of transcription factors increased both basal and GnRH-induced LH secretion in LβT2 gonadotrope-like cells in vitro without affecting Lhb expression. Conversely, mRNA levels of ChgA and SgII, which encode key secretory granule cargo proteins, were decreased following pharmacologic inhibition of YAP/TAZ, suggesting a mechanism whereby YAP/TAZ regulate the LH secretion machinery in gonadotrope cells. Together, these findings represent the first evidence that Hippo signaling may play a role in regulating pituitary LH secretion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariane Lalonde-Larue
- Centre de recherche en reproduction et fertilité (CRRF), Faculté de médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec J2S 7C6, Canada
| | - Alexandre Boyer
- Centre de recherche en reproduction et fertilité (CRRF), Faculté de médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec J2S 7C6, Canada
| | - Esdras Corrêa Dos Santos
- Centre de recherche en reproduction et fertilité (CRRF), Faculté de médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec J2S 7C6, Canada
| | - Derek Boerboom
- Centre de recherche en reproduction et fertilité (CRRF), Faculté de médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec J2S 7C6, Canada
| | - Daniel J Bernard
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1Y6, Canada
| | - Gustavo Zamberlam
- Centre de recherche en reproduction et fertilité (CRRF), Faculté de médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec J2S 7C6, Canada
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