Postnatal developmental expression and localization of apelin and apelin receptor protein in the ovary and uterus of mice

Abstract

Postnatal ovarian and uterine development is crucial to accomplished female fertility. Thus, the investigations of factors that present in pre-pubertal stages are important as it might be responsible for the regulation of ovarian and uterine function. Apelin, an adipokine and its receptor (APJ) are present in female reproductive organs. However, no study has reported its postnatal expression in uterus and ovary. Thus, we investigated the postnatal developmental changes in expression and localization of apelin and APJ in the ovary and uterus of mice.Postnatal ovary and uterus were collected from postnatal day (PND) 1, 7, 14, 21, 42, 65 and performed western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. Uterine APJ is elevated in PND14 and PND65, whereas, ovarian APJ elevated in PND7, PND14, and PND65. Apelin expression in both ovary and uterus showed intense staining at PND65 and PND14. Our results showed that apelin and APJ abundance was lower at PND21 in uterus and ovary. In conclusion, apelin and APJ are developmentally regulated in the ovary and uterus, and its localization in the different compartments of ovary and uterus suggest its distribution specific physiological role in the uterus and ovary.

Expression and localization of apelin and apelin receptor protein in the oviduct of letrozole‐induced hyperandrogenized mice

“…shown to be expressed in the uterine muscle of rats and mice (Anima et al, 2023;Balci et al, 2023;O'Carroll et al, 2000) and in the human uterine tissue apelin inhibits uterine contractility in vitro (Hehir & Morrison, 2012). Therefore, the deregulation of apelin system in the hyperandrogenized condition could also affect the contractility of oviduct.…”

“…To analyze the localization of apelin, APJ, HSP70, BCL2, active caspase3, and phospho-Akt routine immunohistochemistry was followed (Anima et al, 2023) Once mounted with DPX, the slides were examined and photographed using camera-mounted binocular microscope (Model DC.1359 F100, Euromex). For semi-quantification, ImageJ software was used to quantify the stained area.…”

Assessment of copper nanoparticles treatment on male accessory reproductive organs and epididymis in a mouse model: A morphological and biochemical study

“…The Nanoparticles used in this experiment, Copper (ll) oxide (Cat#544868-5G), were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich Chemicals Pvt Ltd. The purchased CuNPs were already characterized by TEM analysis and was <50 nm in size (Anima et al, 2023;Nicy et al, 2022).…”

“…It has been show that CuNPs can enter the placental barrier and causes nutritional imbalance and liver dysfunction in fetus of pregnant rats (Luo et al, 2020). Our recent study has shown that CuNPs treatment increases the oxidative stress, and induces degenerative changes in mice uterus (Anima et al, 2023). Intraperitoneal injection with 0.5, 20, and 40 mg/kg/bw of CuNPs for 3, 6, and 9 days have negative effect on the reproductive organs of albino rats, where there was an increase in sperm abnormality and decrease in the sperm viability (Al-Bairuty & Taha, 2016).…”

Expression of Apelin and Apelin Receptor Protein in the Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Ovarian Axis during the Estrous Cycle of Mice

“…PBS was used to wash off the unbound primary antibody and incubated with secondary antibody (1:400, goat anti-rabbit, cat# PI-1000, Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA, USA). The antibodies for apelin and apelin receptors (APJ) have been used for the localization of these proteins in mice [39]. The slides were then proceed in DAB solution containing 0.6 mg/mL solution of 3, 3-diaminobenzidine tetra hydrochloride Dihydrate (DAB) in Tris-HCl (pH 7.6) and 0.01% H 2 O 2 until brown color developed and the reaction was stopped by distilled water.…”