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20 August 2021 Vaginal mucus in mice: developmental and gene expression features of epithelial mucous cells during pregnancy
Makoto Sugiyama, Nao Machida, Arata Yasunaga, Nanako Terai, Hanae Fukasawa, Hisaya K. Ono, Ryosuke Kobayashi, Keita Nishiyama, Osamu Hashimoto, Shiro Kurusu, Kazuki Yoshioka
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Abstract

The vagina is the site of copulation and serves as the birth canal. It also provides protection against external pathogens. In mice, due to the absence of cervical glands, the vaginal epithelium is the main producer of vaginal mucus. The development and differentiation of vaginal epithelium-constituting cells and the molecular characteristics of vaginal mucus have not been thoroughly examined. Here, we characterized vaginal mucous cell development and the expression of mucus-related factors in pregnant mice. The vaginal mucous epithelium layer thickened and became multilayered after Day 12 of pregnancy and secreted increasing amounts of mucus until early postpartum. Using histochemistry and transmission electron microscopy, we found supra-basal mucous cells as probable candidates for precursor cells. In vaginal mucous cells, the expression of TFF1, a stabilizer of mucus, was high, and some members of mucins and antimicrobial peptides (MUC5B and DEFB1) were expressed in a stage-dependent manner. In summary, this study presents the partial characterization of vaginal epithelial mucous cell lineage and expression of genes encoding several peptide substances that may affect vaginal tissue homeostasis and mucosal immunity during pregnancy and parturition.

Summary sentence

Summary Sentence: Mucous cells in the murine vaginal epithelium differentiate from basal stem cells with acquisition of mucus production and keratinization and display temporally regulated expression of TFF, mucin, and beta-defensins during pregnancy and postpartum.

© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society for the Study of Reproduction. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com
Makoto Sugiyama, Nao Machida, Arata Yasunaga, Nanako Terai, Hanae Fukasawa, Hisaya K. Ono, Ryosuke Kobayashi, Keita Nishiyama, Osamu Hashimoto, Shiro Kurusu, and Kazuki Yoshioka "Vaginal mucus in mice: developmental and gene expression features of epithelial mucous cells during pregnancy," Biology of Reproduction 105(5), 1272-1282, (20 August 2021). https://doi.org/10.1093/biolre/ioab157
Received: 21 March 2021; Accepted: 16 August 2021; Published: 20 August 2021
KEYWORDS
antimicrobial peptides
mucins
pregnancy
trefoil factor
vaginal mucous cells
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