The Artificially Stimulated Decidual Cell Reaction in the Mouse Uterus Studies of RNA Polymerases and Histone Modifications

Cronolone (9 alpha-fluoro-11 beta-hydroxy-17 alpha-acetoxypregn-4-ene-3,20-dione) is widely employed to regulate breeding activity in the ewe, but its biological activity in the uterus of this and most other species has not been studied. In this study several in vivo uterus-related activities of cronolone have been examined in the sheep, mouse and rabbit. In some experiments the corresponding activities of medroxyprogesterone acetate (6 alpha-methyl-17 alpha-acetoxypregn-4-ene-3,20-dione, MAP) were also examined. Cronolone maintained pregnancy in ovariectomized ewes but not in ovariectomized mice and rabbits; it terminated pregnancy in some mice and in all rabbits that were receiving daily progesterone treatment. Cronolone could not sensitize the mouse uterus for the induction of the decidual-cell reaction or block the induction of such sensitivity by progesterone, but did support limited growth of the oil-stimulated horn after sensitization with progesterone. Cronolone induced uteroglobin secretion by rabbit endometrium. It was concluded that, whereas MAP is a potent progestogen in the sheep, mouse and rabbit, cronolone is a progestogen in the sheep and rabbit only. In the mouse and especially the rabbit, cronolone has other, non-progestational activities, which block pregnancy.

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HORMONE SECRETION DURING EARLY PREGNANCY IN THE MOUSE

Journal of Endocrinology ◽

10.1677/joe.0.0450057 ◽

1969 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 57-65 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

C. A. FINN ◽

L. MARTIN

Keyword(s):

Cell Division ◽

Hormone Secretion ◽

Hormone Treatment ◽

Ovarian Hormones ◽

Decidual Cell ◽

Cell Reaction ◽

Mouse Uterus ◽

Small Doses ◽

Pregnant Mice ◽

Characteristic Manner

SUMMARY The distribution of cell division in the tissues of the mouse uterus changes in a characteristic manner during the first few days of pregnancy due to changes in the secretion of ovarian hormones. Pregnant mice were ovariectomized at various times and attempts made to reproduce the pattern of cell division with exogenous hormones. The schedule of hormone injections producing a pattern of uterine mitoses which most closely approached that of pregnancy suggested that secretion of both oestrogen and progesterone started about 48 hours after mating and continued, possibly increasing, until after implantation had started. This conflicts with the oestrogen surge hypothesis. Further experiments were carried out to determine the optimum hormone treatment schedules for sensitivity to induction of the oil decidual cell reaction. Multiple small doses of oestradiol allowed the production of greater deciduomas than a single dose, thus again suggesting that the oestrogen surge hypothesis may not be correct.

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Localization of NADPH diaphorase in the mouse uterus during the first half of pregnancy and during an artificially induced decidual cell reaction.

Journal of Histochemistry & Cytochemistry ◽

10.1177/43.10.7560883 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 43 (10) ◽

pp. 1053-1060 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

C S Moorhead ◽

M Lawhun ◽

G L Nieder

Keyword(s):

Nitric Oxide ◽

Immune Response ◽

Stromal Cells ◽

Uterine Artery ◽

No Synthase ◽

Nadph Diaphorase ◽

Decidual Cell ◽

Cell Reaction ◽

Mouse Uterus ◽

Intense Staining

Uteri from non-pregnant and pregnant (Days 1-10) mice were examined for the presence of NADPH diaphorase (NADPH-d) activity by histochemical techniques. Macrophages positive for NADPH-d were observed in all uterine sections but appeared to migrate out of the implantation site and cluster in the mesometrium and interimplantation zones beginning on Day 4. NADPH-d activity was seen in the luminal and glandular epithelium and in several isolated fibers coursing through the myometrium. Many branches of the uterine artery also expressed activity, with the most intense staining in the vessels of the mesometrium. However, the most remarkable staining began on Day 6 within the primary decidual zone. When the stromal cells underwent decidualization, they began to show NADPH-d activity, with the pattern of activity matching the expanding area of decidualization. By Day 9 most of the decidual cell reaction had occurred and the mesometrial decidual staining began to decrease. However, the blood vessels and the cells surrounding the developing blood spaces continued to express activity, and heavy staining was evident within the antimesometrial decidua. No NADPH-d activity was seen in any of the trophoblast cells at any time, or in embryonic tissue, except on Day 8. NADPH-d has been used to identify nitric oxide (NO) synthase. Therefore, it may represent an NO-mediated paracrine control over decidual blood flow, myometrial quiescence, or immune response during pregnancy.

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The Role of Prostaglandins and Cyclic Nucleotides in the Artifically Stimulated Decidual Cell Reaction in the Mouse Uterus

Cellular and Molecular Aspects of Implantation ◽

10.1007/978-1-4613-3180-3_42 ◽

1981 ◽

pp. 428-430 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Judith C. Rankin ◽

Barry E. Ledford ◽

Billy Baggett

Keyword(s):

Cyclic Nucleotides ◽

Decidual Cell ◽

Cell Reaction ◽

Mouse Uterus

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Synthesis and Modification of the Histones during the Decidual Cell Reaction in the Mouse Uterus

Biology of Reproduction ◽

10.1095/biolreprod20.2.214 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 214-220 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Martin J. Serra ◽

Barry E. Ledford ◽

Billy Baggett

Keyword(s):

Decidual Cell ◽

Cell Reaction ◽

Mouse Uterus

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METABOLISM OF RNA AND PYRIMIDINE NUCLEOTIDES IN THE UTERUS DURING THE EARLY DECIDUAL CELL REACTION

Journal of Endocrinology ◽

10.1677/joe.0.0590275 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 59 (2) ◽

pp. 275-283 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

B. G. MILLER

Keyword(s):

Orotic Acid ◽

Rna Synthesis ◽

Specific Activity ◽

Sesame Oil ◽

Decidual Cell ◽

Cell Reaction ◽

Pyrimidine Nucleotides ◽

Mouse Uterus ◽

Acid Incorporation ◽

Specific Activities

SUMMARY Changes in the metabolism of pyrimidine 5′-nucleotides and RNA in the mouse uterus during the oil-induced decidual cell reaction were investigated. During the first 20 h after the intraluminal injection of 10 μl sesame oil the amounts of HClO4-soluble nucleotides and uridine 5′-nucleotides in the treated horn increased by 55% and 115%, respectively. During the same interval RNA increased by 101%, while the increase in protein was much smaller, and the amount of DNA remained almost unchanged. Doses of [2-14C]uridine, [5-3H]cytidine and [5-3H]orotic acid were administered to mice 20 min before killing. After [2-14C]uridine injection the specific activity of the uridine 5′-nucleotide fraction 20 h after the oil stimulus had not changed, while the specific activity of RNA increased by 43% during the 20-h interval. Similar results were obtained when [5-3H]-cytidine was injected. In contrast, after an injection of [5-3H]orotic acid the specific activities of both the uridine 5′-nucleotide and RNA fractions decreased with increasing time after the intraluminal injection of oil. When approximate rates of RNA synthesis were calculated independently from the data for [2-14C]uridine and [5-3H]orotic acid incorporation in these two fractions, the results agreed well, and indicated that the rate of synthesis of RNA in the decidualizing uterus increased by 64% and 163% at 8 and 20 h respectively after the intraluminal administration of sesame oil.

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Cyclin D3 in the mouse uterus is associated with the decidualization process during early pregnancy

Journal of Molecular Endocrinology ◽

10.1677/jme.0.0220091 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 91-101 ◽

Cited By ~ 59

Author(s):

SK Das ◽

H Lim ◽

BC Paria ◽

SK Dey

Keyword(s):

Epithelial Cells ◽

Stromal Cells ◽

Cyclin D3 ◽

Northern Hybridization ◽

Decidual Cell ◽

Cell Reaction ◽

Mouse Uterus ◽

Decidual Cells ◽

A Cell ◽

Hybridization In Situ

In the mouse, the attachment reaction between the blastocyst trophectoderm and the receptive uterine luminal epithelium occurs at 2200-2300 h on day 4 of pregnancy and is rapidly followed by transformation of stromal cells into decidual cells (decidual cell reaction). This process can also be induced experimentally (deciduoma) by intraluminal oil infusion in the uterus on day 4 of pseudopregnancy. The decidual cell reaction is associated with up- and down-regulation of many genes in a cell-specific manner. Using mRNA differential display, we identified cyclin D3 as one of the genes that is upregulated in the uterus at the sites of blastocyst apposition during the attachment reaction. The levels of expression were low in the morning of days 1-4 as determined by Northern hybridization. In situ hybridization analysis showed that on days 1 and 2, signals were primarily localized in uterine epithelial cells, while signals were detected in both the stromal and epithelial cells on days 3 and 4. In contrast, with the initiation and progression of decidualization on days 5, 6 and 7, the levels of cyclin D3 mRNA were remarkably upregulated in stromal cells both at the mesometrial and the antimesometrial poles. However, on day 8, signals were primarily localized in stromal cells at the mesometrial decidual bed. Implanting blastocysts on these days also expressed cyclin D3 mRNA. In the progesterone-treated delayed implanting mice, the uterine levels of cyclin D3 mRNA were modest at the sites of blastocyst apposition, but were upregulated with the onset of implantation by estradiol-17beta. However, the decidual expression of cyclin D3 mRNA was not dependent on the presence of blastocysts, since increased expression also occurred in experimentally induced deciduoma in the absence of blastocysts. The importance of cyclin D3 in decidualization was further examined in Hoxa-10-deficient mice which show defective decidualization. The expression of cyclin D3 mRNA in Hoxa-10(-/-) uteri on day 5 was severely compromised after application of a deciduogenic stimulus on day 4 of pseudopregnancy. Collectively, the results suggest that cyclin D3 could be important for the process of decidualization.

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