Modulation of The Oviductal Environment by Gametes

The notion of a gamete recognition system that alerts females to the presence of gametes in their reproductive tract profoundly influences our understanding of the physiology of events leading to conception and the bearing of offspring. Here, we show that the female responds to gametes within her tr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of proteome research 2007-12, Vol.6 (12), p.4656-4666
Main Authors: Georgiou, A. Stephen, Snijders, Ambrosius P. L, Sostaric, Edita, Aflatoonian, Reza, Vazquez, Jose L, Vazquez, Juan M, Roca, Jordi, Martinez, Emilio A, Wright, Phillip C, Fazeli, Alireza
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Fallopian Tubes - metabolism
Fallopian Tubes - surgery
Female
Fertilization
Isotope Labeling
Male
Oocytes - physiology
Pregnancy
Protein Array Analysis
Proteins - chemistry
Proteins - metabolism
Proteins - physiology
Random Allocation
Spermatozoa - physiology
Swine - metabolism
Swine - surgery
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Summary:The notion of a gamete recognition system that alerts females to the presence of gametes in their reproductive tract profoundly influences our understanding of the physiology of events leading to conception and the bearing of offspring. Here, we show that the female responds to gametes within her tract by modulating the environment in which pregnancy is initially established. We found distinct alterations in oviductal gene expression as a result of sperm and oocyte arrival in the oviduct, which led directly to distinct alterations to the composition of oviductal fluid in vivo. This suggests that either gamete activates a cell-type-specific signal transduction pathway within the oviduct. This gamete recognition system presents a mechanism for immediate and local control of the oviductal microenvironment in which sperm transport, sperm binding and release, capacitation, transport of oocytes, fertilization, and early cleavage-stage embryonic development occur. This may explain the mechanisms involved in postcopulatory sexual selection, where there is evidence suggesting that the female reproductive tract can bias spermatozoa from different males in the favour of the more biologically attractive male. In addition, the presence of a gamete recognition system explains the oviduct’s ability to tolerate spermatozoa while remaining intolerant to pathogens.
ISSN:1535-3893
1535-3907
DOI:10.1021/pr070349m