Maternal stress and the early embryonic microenvironment:investigating long‑term cortisol effects on bovine oviductal epithelial cells using air–liquid interface culture  

作　　者：Fiona Wahl Jianchao Huo Shuaizhi Du Jennifer Schoen Shuai Chen 

机构地区：[1]Department of Reproduction Biology,Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research(IZW),Alfred‑Kowalke‑Straße 17,10315 Berlin,Germany [2]Institute of Biotechnology,Technische Universität Berlin,Straße Des 17.Juni 135,10623 Berlin,Germany [3]Institute of Reproductive Biology,Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology(FBN),Wilhelm‑Stahl‑Allee 2,18196 Dummerstorf,Germany

出　　处：《Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology》2025年第1期153-166,共14页畜牧与生物技术杂志(英文版)

基　　金：German research Foundation(DFG,grant numbers:CH2321/1–1 and SCHO1231/7–1);JH has received a scholarship from the Chinese Scholarship Council(CSC No.:201908350115).

摘　　要：The oviduct epithelium is the initial maternal contact site for embryos after fertilization,offering the microenviron-ment before implantation.This early gestation period is particularly sensitive to stress,which can cause reduced fertil-ity and reproductive disorders in mammals.Nevertheless,the local impact of elevated stress hormones on the ovi-duct epithelium has received limited attention to date,except for a few reports on polyovulatory species like mice and pigs.In this study,we focused on the effects of chronic maternal stress on cattle,given its association with infertil-ity issues in this monoovulatory species.Bovine oviduct epithelial cells(BOEC)differentiated at the air–liquid interface(ALI)were stimulated with 250 nmol/L cortisol for 1 or 3 weeks.Subsequently,they were assessed for morphology,bioelectrical properties,and gene expression related to oviduct function,glucocorticoid pathway,cortisol metabo-lism,inflammation,and apoptosis.Results revealed adverse effects of cortisol on epithelium structure,featured by deciliation,vacuole formation,and multilayering.Additionally,cortisol exposure led to an increase in transepithelial potential difference,downregulated mRNA expression of the major glucocorticoid receptor(NR3C1),upregulated the expression of cortisol-responsive genes(FKBP5,TSC22D3),and significant downregulation of oviductal glycopro-tein 1(OVGP1)and steroid receptors PGR and ESR1.The systematic comparison to a similar experiment previously performed by us in porcine oviduct epithelial cells,indicated that bovine cultures were more susceptible to elevated cortisol levels than porcine.The distinct responses between both species are likely linked to their divergence in the cortisol-induced expression changes of HSD11B2,an enzyme controlling the cellular capacity to metabolise cortisol.These findings provide insights into the species-specific reactions and reproductive consequences triggered by maternal stress.

关 键 词：Air–liquid interface BOVINE CORTISOL Early embryonic microenvironment Epithelial cells Maternal stress OVIDUCT 

分 类 号：R73[医药卫生—肿瘤]