BOR - Papers in Press, published online ahead of print
July 14, 2004.
Biol Reprod 2004, 10.1095/biolreprod.104.032151
BIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION 71, 16881693 (2004)
DOI: 10.1095/biolreprod.104.032151
© 2004 by the Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc.
Possible Role of Interleukin-1 in the Regulation of Bovine Corpus Luteum Throughout the Luteal Phase1
Ryo Nishimura3,
Anom Bowolaksono3,
Tomas J. Acosta4,
Shuko Murakami3,
Katarzyna Piotrowska5,
Dariusz J. Skarzynski5, and
Kiyoshi Okuda2,3
Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology,3
Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture,4 Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
Department of Reproductive Immunology,5 Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, 10-747 Olsztyn, Poland
Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is one of the principal cytokines that participate in local regulation of many reproductive functions. The present study was undertaken to determine whether mRNAs for IL-1
, IL-1ß, and IL-1 type I receptor (IL-1R) are expressed in bovine corpora lutea (CL), and whether luteal cells respond to treatment with IL-1
and IL-1ß during the luteal phase. Bovine CL were classified into five stages (early, Days 23; developing, Days 56; mid, Days 812; late, Days 1517; and regressed, Days 1921). IL-1
, IL-1ß, and IL-1R mRNAs were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in all luteal stages examined. Densitometric analysis of PCR products revealed increases of the mRNA of IL-1
and IL-1R in the CL of the regressed stage (P < 0.05). There was less mRNA for IL-1ß in the regressed stage than in the developing and mid stages (P < 0.05). When developing, mid, and late luteal cells were treated with IL-1
(130 ng/ml) or IL-1ß (130 ng/ml) for 24 h, IL-1
and IL-1ß dose-dependently increased prostaglandin (PG) F2
and PGE2 production by the luteal cells of all stages (P < 0.05), indicating the presence of functional IL-1R in bovine CL. However, progesterone synthesis was not affected by either IL-1
or IL-1ß treatment. Stimulation with IL-1
and IL-1ß decreased the PGE2:PGF2
ratio in the developing stage (P < 0.05), whereas it increased the ratio in the mid stage (P < 0.05). In the late stage, the ratio of IL-1ß-treated cells was greater than that of IL-1
-treated cells (P < 0.05). Overall results indicate that genes for IL-1
and IL-1ß are expressed and a functional IL-1R is present in the bovine CL throughout the luteal phase, and suggest that IL-1
and IL-1ß have different roles as local modulators to regulate PGF2
and PGE2 production during the luteal phase.
1 This research was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research 14360168 of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
2 Correspondence: FAX: 81 86 251 8388; kokuda{at}cc.okayama-u.ac.jp
Copyright © 2004 by the Society for the Study of Reproduction.