scholarly journals Administration of a herbal formulation enhanced blastocyst implantation via IκB activation in mouse endometrium

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Songhee Jeon ◽  
Quan Feng Liu ◽  
Hua Cai ◽  
Ha Jin Jeong ◽  
Su-Hyun Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Embryo Implantation ◽  
Water Extract ◽  
Treated Group ◽  
Endometrial Receptivity ◽  
Implantation Failure ◽  
Herbal Formulation ◽  
Blastocyst Implantation ◽  
Implantation Sites

Abstract Background: BaelanChagsangBang (BCB), a herbal formulation consisting of eleven herbs, may be prescribed as a reproductive functional supplement to improve ovulation and implantation during the treatment of infertility and recurrent abortion in Korean Medicine. This study aimed to investigate the effects and action mechanisms of water-extracted BCB on endometrial receptivity and blastocyst implantation under normal conditions and in a mifepristone (RU486)-induced implantation failure murine model.Methods: In vitro, the antioxidant potentials of BCB were evaluated using DPPH and superoxide anion radical scavenging assays and a DCFH-DA assay, and the cytotoxic and cytoprotective effects of BCB were confirmed using an MTT assay. In vivo, C57BL/6 female mice (n = 6 per group) orally received BCB (300 mg/kg/day), a dose similar to that used clinically, from 7 days before pregnancy until the end of the experiment. On day 4 of pregnancy, RU486 (4 mg/kg) was injected subcutaneously to induce implantation failure. The effect of BCB on embryo implantation was evaluated by implantation rate analysis, histological examination, and western blotting of uterus tissues.Results: BCB water extract showed strong anti-oxidative and cytoprotective effects in vitro. In vivo administration of BCB water extract increased the number of newborn pups in BCB-treated mice versus sham-treated mice under normal conditions and improved the number of implantation sites in pregnant mice despite RU486 injection. BCB increased the protein levels of cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase through IκB activation. Moreover, the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) at uterus implantation sites were up-regulated in the BCB-treated group as compared with those in the RU486-treated group. Conclusion: These results show BCB improved embryo implantation through IκB activation in our mouse model and suggest that BCB has therapeutic potential in the context of poor endometrial receptivity.

scholarly journals Administration of a herbal formulation enhanced blastocyst implantation via IκB activation in mouse endometrium

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Songhee Jeon ◽  
Quan Feng Liu ◽  
Hua Cai ◽  
Ha Jin Jeong ◽  
Su-Hyun Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Embryo Implantation ◽  
Water Extract ◽  
Treated Group ◽  
Endometrial Receptivity ◽  
Implantation Failure ◽  
Herbal Formulation ◽  
Blastocyst Implantation ◽  
Implantation Sites

Abstract Background BaelanChagsangBang (BCB), a herbal formulation consisting of eleven herbs, may be prescribed as a reproductive functional supplement to improve ovulation and implantation during the treatment of infertility and recurrent abortion in Korean Medicine. This study aimed to investigate the effects and action mechanisms of water-extracted BCB on endometrial receptivity and blastocyst implantation under normal conditions and in a mifepristone (RU486)-induced implantation failure murine model. Methods In vitro, the antioxidant potentials of BCB were evaluated using DPPH and superoxide anion radical scavenging assays and a DCFH-DA assay, and the cytotoxic and cytoprotective effects of BCB were confirmed using an MTT assay. In vivo, C57BL/6 female mice (n = 6 per group) orally received BCB (300 mg/kg/day), a dose similar to that used clinically, from 7 days before pregnancy until the end of the experiment. On day 4 of pregnancy, RU486 (4 mg/kg) was injected subcutaneously to induce implantation failure. The effect of BCB on embryo implantation was evaluated by implantation rate analysis, histological examination, and western blotting of uterus tissues. Results BCB water extract showed strong anti-oxidative and cytoprotective effects in vitro. In vivo administration of BCB water extract increased the number of newborn pups in BCB-treated mice versus sham-treated mice under normal conditions and improved the number of implantation sites in pregnant mice despite RU486 injection. BCB increased the protein levels of cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase through IκB activation. Moreover, the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinases at uterus implantation sites were up-regulated in the BCB-treated group as compared with those in the RU486-treated group. Conclusion These results show BCB improved embryo implantation through IκB activation in our mouse model and suggest that BCB has therapeutic potential in the context of poor endometrial receptivity.

scholarly journals Administration of Herb Formulation Enhanced Blastocyst Implantation via Iκb Activation in Mouse Endometrium

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Songhee Jeon ◽  
Quan Feng Liu ◽  
Hua Cai ◽  
Ha Jin Jeong ◽  
Su-Hyun Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Superoxide Anion ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Radical Scavenging ◽  
Water Extract ◽  
Treated Group ◽  
Mechanisms Of Action ◽  
Endometrial Receptivity ◽  
Expression Level ◽  
Blastocyst Implantation

Abstract BackgroundBaelan Chagsang Bang (BCB), consisting of a mixture of 11 herbs, may be prescribed as a reproductive function supplement to improve ovulation and implantation during the treatment of infertility and recurrent abortion in Oriental Medicine. This study aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of action of water-extracted BCB on endometrial receptivity and blastocyst implantation in a mifepristone (RU486)-induced implantation failure model.MethodsIn in vitro, antioxidant potentials of BCB were evaluated using DPPH and superoxide anion radical scavenging assays and DCFH-DA assay. In vivo, C57BL/6 female mice (n = 6 per group) orally received BCB (300 mg/kg/day), a dose similar to that used clinically. BCB was administrated from 7 days before pregnancy until the end of the experiment. They were housed with male mice until pregnancy was confirmed. On day 4 of pregnancy, RU486 (4 mg/kg) was injected subcutaneously to induce implantation failure.ResultsAdministration of the BCB water extract increased the number of newborn pups in BCB-treated mice compared to that of sham-treated mice and improved the number of implantation sites in pregnant mice despite RU486 injection. BCB increased the protein expression level of cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase through IκB activation. Moreover, the expression level of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) at the uterus implantation site was up-regulated in the BCB-treated group compared to that of the RU486-treated group. To determine the mechanisms of action of BCB, the anti-oxidative effect of BCB was examined via in vitro assay. The BCB water extract showed strong anti-oxidative effects in the DPPH assay and the superoxide anion free-radical scavenging activity assay.ConclusionOur findings provide evidence that BCB has therapeutic potential against poor endometrial receptivity.

scholarly journals Paeoniflorin Enhances Endometrial Receptivity through Leukemia Inhibitory Factor

Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 439
Author(s):  
Hye-Rin Park ◽  
Hee-Jung Choi ◽  
Bo-Sung Kim ◽  
Tae-Wook Chung ◽  
Keuk-Jun Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Leukemia Inhibitory Factor ◽  
Unmet Need ◽  
Water Extract ◽  
Implantation Rate ◽  
Endometrial Receptivity ◽  
Inhibitory Factor ◽  
Drug Candidate ◽  
Implantation Failure

Despite advances in assisted reproductive technology, treatment for deficient endometrial receptivity is a major clinical unmet need. In our previous study, the water extract of Paeonia lactiflora Pall. enhanced endometrial receptivity in vitro and in vivo via induction of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), an interleukin (IL)-6 family cytokine. In the present study, we found that paeoniflorin, a monoterpene glycoside, is the major active compound of P. lactiflora. Paeoniflorin significantly improved the embryo implantation rate in a murine model of mifepristone (RU486)-induced implantation failure. In addition, paeoniflorin increased the adhesion of human trophectoderm-derived JAr cells to endometrial Ishikawa cells through the expression of LIF in vitro. Moreover, using the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database of the human endometrium, we confirmed that LIF signaling is a key regulator for improving human endometrial receptivity. Therefore, these results suggest that paeoniflorin might be a potent drug candidate for the treatment of endometrial implantation failure by enhancing endometrial receptivity.

Human chorionic gonadotropin improves endometrial receptivity by increasing the expression of homeobox A10

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 413-424
Author(s):  
Mengchen Zhu ◽  
Shanling Yi ◽  
Xiaomin Huang ◽  
Junan Meng ◽  
Haixiang Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chorionic Gonadotropin ◽  
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin ◽  
Embryo Implantation ◽  
Endometrial Receptivity ◽  
Endometrial Stromal Cells ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Hcg Receptor ◽  
Methyltransferase 1

Abstract Homeobox A10 (HOXA10) is a characterized marker of endometrial receptivity. The mechanism by which hCG intrauterine infusion promotes embryo implantation is still unclear. This study seeks to investigate whether hCG improves endometrial receptivity by increasing expression of HOXA10. HOXA10 expression with human chorionic gonadotropin stimulation was analyzed in vitro and in vivo. Our results demonstrate that HOXA10 was decreased in the endometria of recurrent implantation failure patients compared to that in the healthy control fertile group, also we observed that hCG intrauterine infusion increased endometrial HOXA10 expression. HOXA10, blastocyst-like spheroid expansion area was increased, whereas DNA (cytosine-5-)-methyltransferase 1 was decreased when human endometrial stromal cells (hESCs) were treated with 0.2 IU/ml of hCG for 48 h. HOXA10 promoter methylation was also reduced after hCG treatment. Collagen XV (ColXV) can repress the expression of DNA (cytosine-5-)-methyltransferase 1, and hCG treatment increased the expression of ColXV. However, when the hESCs were treated with LH/hCG receptor small interfering RNA to knock down LH/hCG receptor, hCG treatment failed to repress DNA (cytosine-5-)-methyltransferase 1 expression or to increase ColXV expression. Our findings suggest that hCG may promote embryo implantation by increasing the expression of HOXA10.

scholarly journals Endometrial pyruvate kinase M2 is essential for decidualization during early pregnancy

2020 ◽  
Vol 245 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Su ◽  
Sujuan Guo ◽  
Chunyan Liu ◽  
Na Li ◽  
Shuang Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Pyruvate Kinase ◽  
Early Pregnancy ◽  
Stromal Cells ◽  
Embryo Implantation ◽  
Pyruvate Kinase M2 ◽  
Ishikawa Cells ◽  
Implantation Sites

Embryo implantation is essential for normal pregnancy. Decidualization is known to facilitate embryo implantation and maintain pregnancy. Uterine stromal cells undergo transformation into decidual cells after embryo attachment to the endometrium. Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) is a rate limiting enzyme in the glycolysis process which catalyzes phosphoenolpyruvic acid into pyruvate. However, little is known regarding the role of PKM2 during endometrial decidualization. In this study, PKM2 was found to be mainly located in the uterine glandular epithelium and luminal epithelium on day 1 and day 4 of pregnancy and strongly expressed in the decidual zone after embryo implantation. PKM2 was dramatically increased with the onset of decidualization. Upon further exploration, PKM2 was found to be more highly expressed at the implantation sites than at the inter-implantation sites on days 5 to 7 of pregnancy. PKM2 expression was also significantly increased after artificial decidualization both in vivo and in vitro. After PKM2 expression was knocked down by siRNA, the number of embryo implantation sites in mice on day 7 of pregnancy was significantly reduced, and the decidualization markers BMP2 and Hoxa10 were also obviously downregulated in vivo and in vitro. Downregulated PKM2 could also compromise cell proliferation in primary endometrial stromal cells and in Ishikawa cells. The migration rate of Ishikawa cells was also obviously suppressed by si-PKM2 according to the wound healing assay. In conclusion, PKM2 might play an important role in decidualization during early pregnancy, and cell proliferation might be one pathway for PKM2 regulated decidualization.

Role of intrauterine administration of transfected peripheral blood mononuclear cells by GM-CSF on embryo implantation and pregnancy rate in mice

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delsuz Rezaee ◽  
Mojgan Bandehpour ◽  
Bahram Kazemi ◽  
Mohammad Salehi
Keyword(s):  
Pregnancy Rate ◽  
Mononuclear Cells ◽  
Embryo Implantation ◽  
Peripheral Blood Mononuclear ◽  
Gm Csf ◽  
Recombinant Vector ◽  
Implantation Sites ◽  
Mrna Expression Levels

Abstract One of the effective treatments in women with recurrent implantation failure (RIF) is the use of immune cells to facilitate embryo implantation. Previous studies have shown that intrauterine transmission of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) increased the embryo implantation rate. In this study using B6D2F1 (C57BL/6 × DBA2) mice, a fragment of the granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (Gm-csf) gene was cloned into an enhanced green fluorescent protein vector (pEGFP-N1) and then transfected into PBMC. The protein level of GM-CSF was evaluated in the transfected PBMC and untransfected PBMC by ELISA. Attachment of mouse embryos and the mRNA expression levels of leukemia inhibitory factor (Lif), vascular endothelial growth factor (Vegf), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (Mmp9), Gmcsf-receptor (Gmcsf-r) and interleukin 6 (Il6) in vitro were assessed by real-time PCR in endometrial cells. To determine the pregnancy rate and number of implantation sites in vivo, the mouse uterine horns were analyzed on Day 7.5 post coitum. A greater amount of GM-CSF was produced in PBMC transfected with recombinant vector (552 pg/mL) compared with the untransfected PBMC (57 pg/mL) and PBMC transfected with empty vector (34 pg/mL) (P < 0.05). The data showed that the embryo attachment rate and mRNA expression levels (Vegf [1.7-fold], Mmp9 [1.4-fold], Lif [1.5-fold], Gm-csf r [1.6-fold] and Il6 [1.2-fold]) in the in vitro study (P < 0.01), pregnancy rate (P < 0.01) and number of implantation sites (P < 0.01) in the in vivo investigation (P < 0.05) were increased in PBMC transfected with recombinant vector compared with the PBMC group. The study demonstrated that, in mice, endometrium immunotherapy with transfected PBMC that contained recombinant GM-CSF before embryo implantation was effective in improving embryo implantation and endometrial receptivity.

scholarly journals Expression and function of Pdcd4 in mouse endometrium during early pregnancy

Reproduction ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 155 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Zhang ◽  
Mingyun Ni ◽  
Na Liu ◽  
Yongjiang Zhou ◽  
Xuemei Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Pregnancy ◽  
Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽  
Embryo Implantation ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Programmed Cell Death 4 ◽  
Implantation Sites ◽  
And Function

Embryo implantation is a complex process involving synchronised crosstalk between a receptive endometrium and functional blastocysts. Apoptosis plays an important role in this process as well as in the maintenance of pregnancy. In this study, we analysed the expression pattern of programmed cell death 4 (Pdcd4), a gene associated with apoptosis in the mouse endometrium, during early pregnancy and pseudopregnancy by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, in situ hybridisation, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. The results showed that Pdcd4 was increased along with days of pregnancy and significantly reduced at implantation sites (IS) from day 5 of pregnancy (D5). The level of Pdcd4 at IS was substantially lower than that at interimplantation sites (IIS) on D6 and D7. In addition, Pdcd4 expression in the endometrium was reduced in response to artificially induced decidualisation in vivo and in vitro. Downregulation of Pdcd4 gene expression in cultured primary stromal cells promoted decidualisation, while upregulation inhibited the decidualisation process by increasing apoptosis. These results demonstrate that Pdcd4 is involved in stromal cell decidualisation by mediating apoptosis and therefore plays a role in embryo implantation in mice.

scholarly journals Embryo-Derived Chemokine CXCL12 Enhances Pregnancy Outcome via Improvement of Endometrial Receptivity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hwa Seon Koo ◽  
Min-Ji Yoon ◽  
Seon-Hwa Hong ◽  
Jungho Ahn ◽  
Hwijae Cha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Embryo Implantation ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Endometrial Receptivity ◽  
Invasive Treatment ◽  
Vessel Formation ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Evidence Based Treatments ◽  
Chemokine Cxcl12

Abstract Background: Successful pregnancy inevitably depends on the implantation of a competent embryo into a receptive endometrium. Although a remarkable improvement of assisted reproductive technology (ART) has been achieved over the last few decades, there are still a number of infertile women experiencing frequent ART failure after repeated attempts due to many unsolved problems including repeated failure of implantation. Many substances have been suggested to improve the rates of embryo implantation by enhancing the endometrial receptivity for the patients who are suffering from repeated failure of implantation. However, despite these numerous extensive research work, there are currently no effective evidence-based treatments to prevent or cure this condition. Therefore, here we aim to suggest non-invasive intra-uterine administration of embryo-secreted chemokine CXCL12 as an effective therapeutic intervention to solve this problem.Results: We demonstrated that chemokine CXCL12 is derived from pre- and peri-implanting embryos and its interaction with endometrial CXCR4 and CXCR7 enhances endometrial receptivity and significantly promoted endothelial vessel formation and sprouting in vitro. Consistently, intra-uterine CXCL12 administration in vivo, which is a completely non-invasive treatment strategy, improved endometrial receptivity showing increased integrin b3 and its ligand osteopontin, and induced endometrial angiogenesis displaying increased numbers of vessel formation near the lining of endometrial epithelial layer with higher CD31 and CD34 expression. Furthermore, intra-uterine CXCL12 application dramatically promoted the rates of embryo implantation with no morphologically retarded embryos. Conclusions: Our present study provides a novel evidence that improved uterine endometrial receptivity and enhanced angiogenesis induced by embryo-derived chemokine CXCL12 may aid to develop a non-invasive therapeutic strategy for clinical treatment or supplement for the patients with repeated implantation failure with less risk.

scholarly journals Enhancement of Endometrial Receptivity by Cnidium officinale through Expressing LIF and Integrins

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tae-Wook Chung ◽  
Mi-Ju Park ◽  
Hoyoung Lee ◽  
Keuk-Jun Kim ◽  
Cheorl-Ho Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Embryo Implantation ◽  
Implantation Rate ◽  
Endometrial Receptivity ◽  
Female Infertility ◽  
In Vivo Model ◽  
Cnidium Officinale ◽  
Ishikawa Cells

Improvement of endometrial receptivity is necessary for successful embryo implantation, and its impairment is associated with female infertility. In this study, we investigated the effect of the roots of Cnidium officinale Makino (CoM) on endometrial receptivity in both in vitro and in vivo model of embryo implantation. We found that CoM enhanced the adhesion of JAr cells to Ishikawa cells by stimulating expression of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and integrins. In addition, blocking of LIFR using hLA or neutralization of integrins αV, β3, and β5 using antibodies significantly reduced the enhanced adhesion between JAr cell and CoM-treated Ishikawa cells, indicating that LIF and integrin play an important role in trophoblast-endometrium adhesion for embryo implantation. Furthermore, we identified that CoM significantly improved the implantation rate of blastocysts in the mouse model of RU-induced implantation failure. By collecting these results, here, we suggest that CoM has a therapeutic potential against female infertility associated with decreased endometrial receptivity.

scholarly journals Pleiotropic role of prokineticin 1 in the porcine endometrium during pregnancy establishment and embryo implantation †

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewelina Goryszewska ◽  
Piotr Kaczynski ◽  
Monika Baryla ◽  
Agnieszka Waclawik
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Cell Attachment ◽  
Embryo Implantation ◽  
Secretory Protein ◽  
Endometrial Receptivity ◽  
In Vivo Model ◽  
Cell Contact ◽  
Epithelial Tissue

Abstract Acquisition of endometrial receptivity for embryo implantation is one of the crucial processes during pregnancy and is induced mainly by progesterone and enhanced by conceptus signals. Prokineticin 1 (PROK1) is characterized as a secretory protein with diverse functions in various tissues, including the reproductive tract. PROK1, with its receptor PROKR1, are up-regulated in the porcine endometrium during implantation and in women’s receptive endometrium and decidua. However, the function of PROK1 in embryo-maternal communication has still not been fully elucidated. Hence, we hypothesize that PROK1 is involved in endometrial receptivity development and implantation in pigs. In this study, using the porcine in vivo model of intrauterine infusions of estradiol-17β (E2) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), we revealed that these hormones elevated endometrial expression of PROK1 and PROKR1 mRNA, respectively. Moreover, E2, acting synergistically with PGE2, increased PROKR1 protein expression. We also evidenced that PROK1–PROKR1 signaling induced expression of following genes and/or proteins CCN2, CDH13, FGF2, NFATC2, ANGPT1, ANGPT2, CDH1, MUC4, SPP1, IFNG, IL6, LIF, LIFR, TNF, TGFB3, and FGF9, as well as phosphorylation of PTK2 and secretion of IL6 and IL11 by endometrial explants in vitro. Ingenuity pathway analysis revealed that functions associated with the PROK1-regulated genes/proteins include cell-to-cell contact, cell attachment, migration and viability, differentiation of epithelial tissue, leukocyte migration, inflammatory response, angiogenesis, and vasculogenesis. Summarizing, our study suggests that PROK1 acts pleiotropically as an embryonic signal mediator that regulates endometrial receptivity by increasing the expression of the genes and proteins involved in implantation and pregnancy establishment in pigs.

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