Roles of Endothelin 1 and Tumor Necrosis Factor-A in Determining Responsiveness of the Bovine Corpus Luteum to Prostaglandin F2a
Authors: Meidan Rina , Pate Joy 
Published: March 2022

The corpus luteum (CL) is a transient endocrine gland that has a vital role in the regulation of the estrous cycle, fertility and the maintenance of pregnancy. In the absence of appropriate support, such as occurs during maternal recognition of pregnancy, the CL will regress. Prostaglandin F2a (PGF) was first suggested as the physiological luteolysin in ruminants several decades ago. Yet, the cellular mechanisms by which PGF causes luteal regression remain poorly defined. In recent years it became evident that the process of luteal regression requires a close cooperation between steroidogenic, endothelial and immune cells, all resident cells of this gland. Changes in the population of these cells within the CL closely consort with the functional changes occurring during various stages of CL life span. The proposal aimed to gain a better understanding of the intra-ovarian regulation of luteolysis and focuses especially on the possible reasons causing the early CL (before day 5) to be refractory to the luteolytic actions of PGF. The specific aims of this proposal were to: determine if the refractoriness of the early CL to PGF is due to its inability to synthesize or respond to endothelin–1 (ET-1), determine the cellular localization of ET, PGF and tumor necrosis factor a (TNF a) receptors in early and mid luteal phases, determine the functional relationships among ET-1 and cytokines, and characterize the effects of PGF and ET-1 on prostaglandin production by luteal cell types. We found that in contrast to the mature CL, administration of PGF2a before day 5 of the bovine cycle failed to elevate ET-1, ETA receptors or to induce luteolysis. In fact, PGF₂ₐ prevented the upregulation of the ET-1 gene by ET-1 or TNFa in cultured luteal cells from day 4 CL. In addition, we reported that ECE-1 expression was elevated during the transitionof the CL from early to mid luteal phase and was accompanied by a significant rise in ET-1 peptide. This coincides with the time point at which the CL gains its responsiveness to PGF2a, suggesting that ability to synthesize ET-1 may be a prerequisite for luteolysis. We have shown that while ET-1 mRNA was exclusively localized to endothelial cells both in young and mature CL, ECE-1 was present in the endothelial cells and steroidogenic cells alike. We also found that the gene for TNF receptor I is only moderately affected by the cytokines tested, but that the gene for TNF receptor II is upregulated by ET-1 and PGF₂ₐ. However, these cytokines both increase expression of MCP-1, although TNFa is even more effective in this regard. In addition, we found that proteins involved in the transport and metabolism of PGF (PGT, PGDH, COX-2) change as the estrous cycle progresses, and could contribute to the refractoriness of young CL. The data obtained in this work illustrate ET-1 synthesis throughout the bovine cycle and provide a better understanding of the mechanisms regulating luteal regression and unravel reasons causing the CL to be refractory to PGF2a.