MUC20 expression marks the receptive phase of the human endometrium

REPRODUCTIVE BIOMEDICINE ONLINE

卷:39

Article

Stepanjuk, Artjom¹  Koel, Mariann^1,2  Pook, Martin¹  Saare, Merli^2,3  Jaager, Kersti²  Peters, Maire^2,3  Krjutskov, Kaarel^2,4,5  Ingerpuu, Sulev¹  Salumets, Andres^2,3,6,7,8 

[1] Univ Tartu, Inst Mol & Cell Biol, Riia 23, EE-51010 Tartu, Estonia

[2] Competence Ctr Hlth Technol, Tiigi 61b, EE-50410 Tartu, Estonia

[3] Univ Tartu, Inst Clin Med, Dept Obstet & Gynecol, L Puusepa 8, EE-50406 Tartu, Estonia

[4] Univ Helsinki, Res Programs Unit, Res Program Mol Neurol, Haartmaninkatu 8, Helsinki 00290, Finland

[5] Folkhalsan Inst Genet, Haartmaninkatu 8, Helsinki 00290, Finland

[6] Univ Tartu, Inst Biomed & Translat Med, Dept Biomed, Ravila 19, EE-50411 Tartu, Estonia

[7] Univ Helsinki, Dept Obstet & Gynecol, Haartmaninkatu 2, Helsinki 00014, Finland

[8] Helsinki Univ Hosp, Haartmaninkatu 2, Helsinki 00014, Finland

关键词: MUC20;    Endometrium;    Implantation;    Mucin;    Receptivity;    Window of implantation;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.rbmo.2019.05.004

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Research question: How does mucin MUC20 expression change during the menstrual cycle in different cell types of human endometrium? Design: Study involved examination of MUC20 expression in two previously published RNA-seq datasets in whole endometrial tissue (n = 10), sorted endometrial epithelial (n = 44) or stromal (n = 42) cell samples. RNA-Seq results were validated by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in whole tissue (n = 10), sorted epithelial (n = 17) and stromal (n = 17) cell samples. MUC20 protein localization and expression were analysed in human endometrium by immunohistochemical analysis of intact endometrial tissue (n = 6) and also Western blot of cultured stromal and epithelial cells (n = 2). Results: MUC20 is differentially expressed in the endometrium between the pre-receptive and receptive phases. We show that MUC20 is predominantly expressed by epithelial cells of the receptive endometrium, both at the mRNA (RNA-Seq, P = 0.005; qRT-PCR, P = 0.039) and protein levels (Western blot; immunohistochemistry, P = 0.029). Conclusion: Our results indicate MUC20 as a novel marker of mid-secretory endometrial biology. We propose a model of MUC20 function in the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-activated mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) receptor signalling specifically in the receptive phase. Further investigations should reveal the precise function of MUC20 in human endometrium and the possible connection between MUC20 and HGF-activated MET receptor signalling. MUC20 could potentially be included in the list of endometrial receptivity markers after further clinical validation.

【 授权许可】

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