Submitted August 30, 2002
Returned for revision September 25, 2002
Accepted October 11, 2002
Female Reproductive Tract
Regulation of Ipsilateral and Contralateral Bovine Oviduct
Epithelial Cell Function in the Postovulation Period: A
Transcriptomics Approach
Stefan Bauersachs 1,
Helmut Blum 2,
Sylvia Mallok 2,
Hendrik Wenigerkind 3,
Steffi Rief 1,
Katja Prelle 1,
Eckhard Wolf 4*
1 Institute of Molecular Animal Breeding, Ludwig Maximilians University, Feodor-Lynen-Str. 25, 81377 M
2 GeneCenter of the Ludwig Maximilians University, Feodor-Lynen-Str. 25, 81377 Munich, Germany
3 Bavarian Research Center for Biology of Reproduction, Hackerstr. 27, 85764 Oberschleissheim,
4 Institute of Molecular Animal Breeding, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ewolf{at}lmb.uni-muenchen.de.
Abstract
We studied differential gene expression in bovine
ipsilateral and contralateral oviduct epithelial cells,
using a combination of subtracted cDNA libraries and cDNA
array hybridization. Four Simmental heifers were
synchronized and slaughtered 3.5 days after standing heat.
Epithelial cells were isolated from ipsilateral and
contralateral oviducts. For the identification of genes
differentially regulated in ipsilateral and contralateral
epithelium subtracted cDNA libraries were produced by
Suppression Subtractive Hybridization (SSH) and analyzed
by cDNA array hybridization. DNA sequencing of cDNAs
showing differential signal intensities in ipsilateral and
contralateral epithelium revealed 35 different cDNAs for
day 3.5. 30 of them matched genes with known functions and
5 matched genes without a known function. The majority of
genes (n=27) was expressed at a higher level in the
ipsilateral oviduct, but for some genes (n=8) the mRNA
abundance was higher in the contralateral oviduct. The
regulated genes or their products, respectively, include a
variety of functional classes, such as cell surface
proteins, cell-cell interaction proteins, members of
signal transduction pathways, immune-related proteins, and
enzymes. The identification of genes differentially
regulated in ipsilateral and contralateral oviduct
epithelial cells is the first step towards a systematical
analysis of local mechanisms regulating the function of
the bovine oviduct in the post-ovulation period.
Key words:
Female Reproductive Tract •
Mechanisms of Hormone Action •
Gene regulation •
Oviduct •
Ovulatory cycle
