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BOR - Papers in Press, published online ahead of print June 2, 2004.
Biol Reprod 2004, 10.1095/biolreprod.104.027425
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Submitted January 15, 2004
Returned for revision February 17, 2004
Accepted June 1, 2004

Ovary


Seminal Plasma Regulates Corpora Lutea Macrophage Populations During Early Pregnancy in Mice

Samantha Gangnuss , Melanie L. Sutton-McDowall , Sarah A. Robertson , and David T. Armstrong *

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: david.armstrong{at}adelaide.edu.au.

Abstract
Exposure of the uterus to seminal plasma at mating initiates an inflammatory response within the endometrium of mice, characterized by production of cytokines that recruit and activate leukocytes. We hypothesized this seminal plasma-induced inflammatory response would extend to the ovary, increasing leukocyte abundance within corpora lutea and potentially enhancing progesterone synthesis. Female mice mated to males with their seminal vesicles surgically removed exhibited lower numbers of macrophages within corpora lutea on the day after mating, compared with females mated to vasectomized or normal, intact males. The mean number of F4/80-positive macrophages and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II-positive activated macrophages was approximately 2-fold less in the absence of seminal vesicle fluid. The effects of seminal plasma on macrophage abundance subsided by day 4 and were not accompanied by a change in serum progesterone levels during luteinization (day 1, 2 or 4 after mating) or luteolysis (day 6 or 9). In vitro secretion of progesterone from corpora lutea cultured with or without LH also did not differ between treatment groups. There was no effect of seminal plasma deficiency in males on the number of ovulated ova or corpora lutea in females. These results imply that seminal plasma exposure of the female reproductive tract at mating augments the macrophage population of newly formed corpora lutea, although these additional macrophages seem not to play a role in steroidogenesis and may instead be involved in tissue remodelling within corpora lutea.

Key words: Immunology • Pregnancy • Corpus luteum function • Progesterone • Seminal vesicles


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