Biol Reprod
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

BOR - Papers in Press, published online ahead of print May 28, 2003.
Biol Reprod 2003, 10.1095/biolreprod.103.017111
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
69/3/940    most recent
biolreprod.103.017111v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Pintado, C. O.
Right arrow Articles by Candenas, M. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Pintado, C. O.
Right arrow Articles by Candenas, M. L.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Pintado, C. O.
Right arrow Articles by Candenas, M. L.
BIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION 69, 940–946 (2003)
DOI: 10.1095/biolreprod.103.017111
© 2003 by the Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc.

Neuroendocrinology

A Role for Tachykinins in Female Mouse and Rat Reproductive Function1

C. Oscar Pintado3, Francisco M. Pinto4, Jocelyn N. Pennefather5, Agustín Hidalgo6, Ana Baamonde6, Teresa Sanchez7, and M. Luz Candenas2,4

Centro de Producción y Experimentación Animal,3 Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain Instituto de Investigaciones Químicas,4 Centro de Investigaciones Científicas Isla de la Cartuja, 41092 Sevilla, Spain Department of Anaesthetics, University of Melbourne and Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,5 Royal Women's Hospital, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia Area de Farmacología,6 Departamento de Medicina, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain Animalario Universitario,7 Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain

Tachykinins may be involved in reproduction. A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay was used to analyze the expression of tachykinins and tachykinin receptors in different types of reproductive cells from mice. The preprotachykinin (PPT) genes, PPT-A, PPT-B and PPT-C, that encode substance P/neurokinin A, neurokinin B, and hemokinin-1, respectively, and the genes that encode the tachykinin NK1, NK2, and NK3 receptors were all expressed, at different levels, in the uterus of superovulated, unfertilized mice. The mRNA of neprilysin (NEP), the main enzyme involved in tachykinin metabolism, was also expressed in the uterus. Isolated cumulus granulosa cells expressed PPT-A, PPT-B, PPT-C, and NEP and low levels of the tachykinin NK1 and NK2 receptors. Mouse oocytes expressed PPT-A and -B mRNA transcripts. A low expression of the three tachykinin receptors was observed but PPT-C and NEP were undetectable. Two- and 8- to 16-cell mouse embryos expressed only a low-abundance transcript corresponding to the NK1 receptor. However, the mRNAs of PPT-B, PPT-C and NEP appeared in blastocyst-stage embryos. A low-abundance transcript corresponding to the NK2 receptor was the only target gene detected in mice sperm. Female mice or rats treated neonatally with capsaicin showed a reduced fertility. A reduction in litter size was observed in female rats treated in vivo with the tachykinin NK3 receptor antagonist SR 142801. These data show that tachykinins of both neuronal and nonneuronal origin are differentially expressed in various types of reproductive cells and may play a role in female reproductive function.

1 This work was supported by grants from Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (SAF2002-04080-C02-01 and PB-MED01-15), Spain. C.O.P. and F.M.P. contributed equally to this work.

2 Correspondence: M.L. Candenas, Instituto de Investigaciones Químicas, Avenida Americo Vespucio, s/n, Isla de la Cartuja, 41092 Sevilla, Spain. Fax: 34954460565; mluz{at}cica.es






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2003 by the Society for the Study of Reproduction.