Cargando…

Does Maternal Stress Affect the Early Embryonic Microenvironment? Impact of Long-Term Cortisol Stimulation on the Oviduct Epithelium

Maternal stress before or during the sensitive preimplantation phase is associated with reproduction failure. Upon real or perceived threat, glucocorticoids (classic stress hormones) as cortisol are synthesized. The earliest “microenvironment” of the embryo consists of the oviduct epithelium and the...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Du, Shuaizhi, Trakooljul, Nares, Schoen, Jennifer, Chen, Shuai
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7014231/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32284519
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms21020443
_version_ 1783496582203703296
author Du, Shuaizhi
Trakooljul, Nares
Schoen, Jennifer
Chen, Shuai
author_facet Du, Shuaizhi
Trakooljul, Nares
Schoen, Jennifer
Chen, Shuai
author_sort Du, Shuaizhi
collection PubMed
description Maternal stress before or during the sensitive preimplantation phase is associated with reproduction failure. Upon real or perceived threat, glucocorticoids (classic stress hormones) as cortisol are synthesized. The earliest “microenvironment” of the embryo consists of the oviduct epithelium and the oviductal fluid generated via the epithelial barrier. However, to date, the direct effects of cortisol on the oviduct are largely unknown. In the present study, we used a compartmentalized in vitro system to test the hypothesis that a prolonged stimulation with cortisol modifies the physiology of the oviduct epithelium. Porcine oviduct epithelial cells were differentiated at the air–liquid interface and basolaterally stimulated with physiological levels of cortisol representing moderate and severe stress for 21 days. Epithelium structure, transepithelial bioelectric properties, and gene expression were assessed. Furthermore, the distribution and metabolism of cortisol was examined. The polarized oviduct epithelium converted basolateral cortisol to cortisone and thereby reduced the amount of bioactive cortisol reaching the apical compartment. However, extended cortisol stimulation affected its barrier function and the expression of genes involved in hormone signaling and immune response. We conclude that continuing maternal stress with long-term elevated cortisol levels may alter the early embryonic environment by modification of basic oviductal functions.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-7014231
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2020
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-70142312020-03-09 Does Maternal Stress Affect the Early Embryonic Microenvironment? Impact of Long-Term Cortisol Stimulation on the Oviduct Epithelium Du, Shuaizhi Trakooljul, Nares Schoen, Jennifer Chen, Shuai Int J Mol Sci Article Maternal stress before or during the sensitive preimplantation phase is associated with reproduction failure. Upon real or perceived threat, glucocorticoids (classic stress hormones) as cortisol are synthesized. The earliest “microenvironment” of the embryo consists of the oviduct epithelium and the oviductal fluid generated via the epithelial barrier. However, to date, the direct effects of cortisol on the oviduct are largely unknown. In the present study, we used a compartmentalized in vitro system to test the hypothesis that a prolonged stimulation with cortisol modifies the physiology of the oviduct epithelium. Porcine oviduct epithelial cells were differentiated at the air–liquid interface and basolaterally stimulated with physiological levels of cortisol representing moderate and severe stress for 21 days. Epithelium structure, transepithelial bioelectric properties, and gene expression were assessed. Furthermore, the distribution and metabolism of cortisol was examined. The polarized oviduct epithelium converted basolateral cortisol to cortisone and thereby reduced the amount of bioactive cortisol reaching the apical compartment. However, extended cortisol stimulation affected its barrier function and the expression of genes involved in hormone signaling and immune response. We conclude that continuing maternal stress with long-term elevated cortisol levels may alter the early embryonic environment by modification of basic oviductal functions. MDPI 2020-01-10 /pmc/articles/PMC7014231/ /pubmed/32284519 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms21020443 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Du, Shuaizhi
Trakooljul, Nares
Schoen, Jennifer
Chen, Shuai
Does Maternal Stress Affect the Early Embryonic Microenvironment? Impact of Long-Term Cortisol Stimulation on the Oviduct Epithelium
title Does Maternal Stress Affect the Early Embryonic Microenvironment? Impact of Long-Term Cortisol Stimulation on the Oviduct Epithelium
title_full Does Maternal Stress Affect the Early Embryonic Microenvironment? Impact of Long-Term Cortisol Stimulation on the Oviduct Epithelium
title_fullStr Does Maternal Stress Affect the Early Embryonic Microenvironment? Impact of Long-Term Cortisol Stimulation on the Oviduct Epithelium
title_full_unstemmed Does Maternal Stress Affect the Early Embryonic Microenvironment? Impact of Long-Term Cortisol Stimulation on the Oviduct Epithelium
title_short Does Maternal Stress Affect the Early Embryonic Microenvironment? Impact of Long-Term Cortisol Stimulation on the Oviduct Epithelium
title_sort does maternal stress affect the early embryonic microenvironment? impact of long-term cortisol stimulation on the oviduct epithelium
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7014231/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32284519
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms21020443
work_keys_str_mv AT dushuaizhi doesmaternalstressaffecttheearlyembryonicmicroenvironmentimpactoflongtermcortisolstimulationontheoviductepithelium
AT trakooljulnares doesmaternalstressaffecttheearlyembryonicmicroenvironmentimpactoflongtermcortisolstimulationontheoviductepithelium
AT schoenjennifer doesmaternalstressaffecttheearlyembryonicmicroenvironmentimpactoflongtermcortisolstimulationontheoviductepithelium
AT chenshuai doesmaternalstressaffecttheearlyembryonicmicroenvironmentimpactoflongtermcortisolstimulationontheoviductepithelium