Influence of elevated temperature on bovine oviduct epithelial cells (BOECs)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of elevated temperature on bovine oviduct epithelial cells (BOECs), based on the expression and localization of both heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), responsible for the cellular defence mechanism, and oviduct specific glycoprotein 1 (OVGP1) which is the most important embryotrophic protein. BOECs were cultured alone and co-cultured with cattle embryos at control (38.5°C) and elevated temperature (41°C) for 168 h. The elevated temperature had no effect on the viability of BOECs but exerted a negative effect on embryo development. The elevated temperature increased the expression of HSP70 and decreased the expression of OVGP1 at both mRNA and protein levels in BOECs cultured alone and those co-cultured with embryos. However, the presence of embryos limited the decrease in OVGP1 expression in BOECs at elevated temperature but did not alter the expression of HSP70. These results demonstrate for the first time the influence of elevated temperature on BOECs, consequently providing insights into the interactions between the embryo and the oviduct at elevated temperature.

本研究旨在通过检测负责细胞防御机制的热休克蛋白70（heat shock protein 70，HSP70）以及核心胚胎营养蛋白输卵管特异性糖蛋白1（oviduct specific glycoprotein 1，OVGP1）的表达与定位情况，探究高温对牛输卵管上皮细胞（bovine oviduct epithelial cells，BOECs）的影响。将牛输卵管上皮细胞单独培养，或与牛胚胎共培养，分别置于对照组温度（38.5℃）与高温条件（41℃）下培养168小时。结果显示，高温对牛输卵管上皮细胞的存活率无显著影响，但会对胚胎发育产生负面影响。无论是单独培养还是与胚胎共培养的牛输卵管上皮细胞，高温均可使其热休克蛋白70的表达上调，而输卵管特异性糖蛋白1的信使RNA（mRNA）与蛋白水平表达均下调。但胚胎的存在可缓解高温下牛输卵管上皮细胞中输卵管特异性糖蛋白1表达的下调幅度，却不会改变热休克蛋白70的表达水平。本研究首次证实了高温对牛输卵管上皮细胞的影响，进而为阐明高温条件下胚胎与输卵管之间的相互作用机制提供了新的思路。