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Implantation is the first direct encounter between the embryo and uterus during pregnancy, and Hbegf is the earliest known molecular signaling for embryo–uterine crosstalk during implantation. The downstream effectors of heparin-binding EGF (HB-EGF) in implantation remain elusive due to the complexity of EGF receptor family. This study shows that the formation of implantation chamber (crypt) triggered by HB-EGF is disrupted by uterine deletion of Vangl2, a key planar cell polarity component (PCP). We found that HB-EGF binds to ERBB2 and ERBB3 to recruit VANGL2 for tyrosine phosphorylation. Using in vivo models, we show that uterine VAGL2 tyrosine phosphorylation is suppressed in Erbb2/Erbb3 double conditional knockout mice. In this context, severe implantation defects in these mice lend support to the critical role of HB-EGF-ERBB2/3-VANGL2 in establishing a two-way dialogue between the blastocyst and uterus. In addition, the result addresses an outstanding question how VANGL2 is activated during implantation. Taken together, these observations reveal that HB-EGF regulates the implantation process by influencing uterine epithelial cell polarity comprising VANGL2.

Pregnancy encompasses a complex orchestration of several sequential steps across tissue and cell types in the mother and fetus for embryo development and delivery of offspring at an opportune time for survival. These steps include embryo implantation, stromal cell proliferation and differentiation (decidualization), placentation, and ultimately parturition with delivery of offspring (1, 2). The outcome of each stage depends on the success of the preceding stages. Most pregnancy events in mice and other mammals are primarily regulated by ovarian estrogen and progesterone (2), yet the molecular discourse between the reproductive system and the embryo that guides pregnancy events is a prevailing mystery. The uterus is primarily comprised of two compartments: the outermost muscle layer (myometrium) and the underlying endometrium. The endometrium is composed of the stroma, the epithelium, and glands. These glands have been seen throughout pregnancy and are acknowledged as essential for implantation and pregnancy success (3), yet their formation and particular genetic and molecular contributions during distinct stages of pregnancy have not been fully appreciated. In PNAS, Kelleher et al. (4) show that Forkhead box a2 (FOXA2), a transcription factor expressed in neonatal and adult mouse uteri, plays dual, stage-specific roles in maternal tissues during pregnancy (Fig. 1). Fig. 1. A schematic of uterine FoxA2 function. ( Left ) In control females, FoxA2 regulates the secretion of glandular LIF, a requisite factor in implantation. With deletion of neonatal FoxA2 ( Center ), adenogenesis is impaired, with uteri becoming aglandular, reduced Lif expression, and infertility resulting from implantation failure. Deletion of adult FoxA2 ( Right ) does not perturb gland formation but disrupts gland differentiation and secretion of LIF, resulting in implantation failure and infertility. LIF replacement rescues implantation in both types of FoxA2 mutant mice but cannot sustain pregnancy in aglandular FoxA2 Pgr-Cre females. In contrast, LIF substitution in mice with uterine glands ( FoxA2 … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: sk.dey{at}cchmc.org. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1

Although epidemiologic and experimental evidence strongly implicates chronic inflammation and dietary fats as risk factors for cancer, the mechanisms underlying their contribution to carcinogenesis are poorly understood. Here we present genetic evidence demonstrating that deletion of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ (PPARδ) attenuates colonic inflammation and colitis-associated adenoma formation/growth. Importantly, PPARδ is required for dextran sodium sulfate induction of proinflammatory mediators, including chemokines, cytokines, COX-2, and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), in vivo. We further show that activation of PPARδ induces COX-2 expression in colonic epithelial cells. COX-2-derived PGE2 stimulates macrophages to produce proinflammatory chemokines and cytokines that are responsible for recruitment of leukocytes from the circulation to local sites of inflammation. Our results suggest that PPARδ promotes colonic inflammation and colitis-associated tumor growth via the COX-2-derived PGE2 signaling axis that mediates cross-talk between tumor epithelial cells and macrophages.

Blastocyst implantation is a complex process requiring coordination of a dynamic sequence of embryo-uterine interactions. Blood vessels enter the uterus from the mesometrium, demarcating the uterus into mesometrial (M) and antimesometrial (AM) domains. Implantation occurs along the uterine longitudinal axis within specialized implantation chambers (crypts) that originate within the evaginations directed from the primary lumen toward the AM domain. The morphological orientation of crypts in rodent uteri was recognized more than a century ago, but the mechanism remained unknown. Here we provide evidence that planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling orchestrates directed epithelial evaginations to form crypts for implantation in mice. Uterine deletion of Vang-like protein 2, but not Vang-like protein 1, conferred aberrant PCP signaling, misdirected epithelial evaginations, defective crypt formation, and blastocyst attachment, leading to severely compromised pregnancy outcomes. The study reveals a previously unrecognized role for PCP in executing spatial cues for crypt formation and implantation. Because PCP is an evolutionarily conserved phenomenon, our study is likely to inspire implantation studies of this signaling pathway in humans and other species.

Immunophilin FK506-binding protein 52 (FKBP52) is a cochaperone that binds to the progesterone receptor (PR) to optimize progesterone (P 4 )-PR signaling. We recently showed that Fkbp52 -deficient ( Fkbp52 −/− ) mice have reduced uterine PR responsiveness and implantation failure which is rescued by excess P 4 supplementation in a genetic background-dependent manner. This finding led us to hypothesize that FKBP52 has functions in addition to optimizing PR activity. Using proteomics analysis, we found that uterine levels of peroxiredoxin-6 (PRDX6), a unique antioxidant, are significantly lower in Fkbp52 −/− mice than in WT and PR-null ( Pgr −/− ) mice. We also found that Fkbp52 −/− mice with reduced uterine PRDX6 levels are susceptible to paraquat-induced oxidative stress (OS), leading to implantation failure even with P 4 supplementation. The same dose of paraquat did not interfere with implantation in WT mice. Moreover, treatment with antioxidants α-tocopherol and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) attenuated paraquat-induced implantation failure in P 4 -treated Fkbp52 −/− mice. Functional analyses using mouse embryonic fibroblasts show that Fkbp52 deficiency associated with reduced PRDX6 levels promotes H 2 O 2 -induced cell death, which is reversed by the addition of NAC or by forced expression of PRDX6, suggesting that Fkbp52 deficiency diminishes the threshold against OS by reducing PRDX6 levels. These findings provide evidence that heightened uterine OS in Fkbp52 −/− females with reduced PRDX6 levels induces implantation failure even in the presence of excess P 4 . This study shows that FKBP52–PRDX6 signaling protects pregnancy from overt OS.

An intimate discourse between the blastocyst and uterus is essential for successful implantation. However, the molecular basis of this interaction is not clearly understood. Exploiting genomic Hbegf mutant mice, we show here that maternal deficiency of heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) defers on-time implantation, leading to compromised pregnancy outcome. We also demonstrate that amphiregulin, but not epiregulin, partially compensates for the loss of HB-EGF during implantation. In search of the mechanism of this compensation, we found that reduced preimplantation estrogen secretion from ovarian HB-EGF deficiency is a cause of sustained expression of uterine amphiregulin before the initiation of implantation. To explore the significance specifically of uterine HB-EGF in implantation, we examined this event in mice with conditional deletion of uterine HB-EGF and found that this specific loss of HB-EGF in the uterus still defers on-time implantation without altering preimplantation ovarian estrogen secretion. The observation of normal induction of uterine amphiregulin surrounding the blastocyst at the time of attachment in these conditional mutant mice suggests a compensatory role of amphiregulin for uterine loss of HB-EGF, preventing complete failure of pregnancy. Our study provides genetic evidence that HB-EGF is critical for normal implantation. This finding has high clinical relevance, because HB-EGF signaling is known to be important for human implantation.

The implantation process is complex, requiring reciprocal interactions between implantation-competent blastocysts and the receptive uterus. Because microRNAs (miRNAs) have major roles in regulating gene expression, we speculated that they participate in directing the highly regulated spatiotemporally expressed genetic network during implantation. Here, we show that two miRNAs, mmu-miR-101a and mmu-miR-199a*, are spatiotemporally expressed in the mouse uterus during implantation coincident with expression of cyclooxygenase-2 , a gene critical for implantation. More interestingly, our in vitro gain- and loss-of-function experiments show that cyclooxygenase-2 expression is posttranscriptionally regulated by these two miRNAs. We report on miRNA-mediated regulation of uterine gene expression in the context of implantation. We believe that many other critical genes related to this process are also regulated by miRNAs. Thus, elucidating the physiological roles of uterine miRNAs will help us better understand the genetic control of implantation, the gateway to a successful pregnancy.

Delayed implantation (embryonic diapause) occurs when the embryo at the blastocyst stage achieves a state of suspended animation. During this period, blastocyst growth is very slow, with minimal or no cell division. Nearly 100 mammals in seven different orders undergo delayed implantation, but the underlying molecular mechanisms that direct this process remain largely unknown. In mice, ovariectomy before preimplantation ovarian estrogen secretion on day 4 of pregnancy initiates blastocyst dormancy, which normally lasts for 1–2 weeks by continued progesterone treatment, although blastocyst survival decreases with time. An estrogen injection rapidly activates blastocysts and initiates their implantation in the progesterone-primed uterus. Using this model, here we show that among ≈20,000 genes examined, only 229 are differentially expressed between dormant and activated blastocysts. The major functional categories of altered genes include the cell cycle, cell signaling, and energy metabolic pathways, particularly highlighting the importance of heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like signaling in blastocyst–uterine crosstalk in implantation. The results provide evidence that the two different physiological states of the blastocyst, dormancy and activation, are molecularly distinguishable in a global perspective and underscore the importance of specific molecular pathways in these processes. This study has identified candidate genes that provide a scope for in-depth analysis of their functions and an opportunity for examining their relevance to blastocyst dormancy and activation in numerous other species for which microarray analysis is not available or possible due to very limited availability of blastocysts.

The implantation of a blastocyst into a receptive uterus is associated with a series of events, namely the attachment reaction followed by decidualization of the stroma. Previous studies established that the gene encoding heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) is expressed in the luminal epithelium solely at the site of blastocyst apposition preceding the attachment reaction. We report here the expression during implantation of 21 genes encoding other signaling proteins, including those belonging to the Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), WNT, and Hedgehog (HH) pathways. We find that the attachment reaction is associated with a localized stromal induction of genes encoding BMP-2, FGF-2, and WNT-4. Despite efforts by many investigators, a simple in vitro model of implantation is not yet available to study either the hierarchy of the events triggered in the uterus by the embryo or the function of individual signaling proteins. We have therefore approached these questions by introducing beads loaded with purified factors into the receptive uterus. We show that beads soaked in HB-EGF or insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), but not other proteins, induce many of the same discrete local responses elicited by the blastocyst, including increased localized vascular permeability, decidualization, and expression of Bmp2 at the sites of the beads. By contrast, the expression domains of Indian hedgehog ( Ihh ), patched , and noggin become restricted as decidualization proceeds. Significantly, beads containing BMP-2 do not themselves elicit an implantation response but affect the spacing of implantation sites induced by blastocysts cotransferred with the beads.

Anandamide ( N -arachidonoylethanolamine) is an endogenous ligand for both the brain-type (CB1-R) and spleen-type (CB2-R) cannabinoid receptors. This investigation demonstrates that the periimplantation mouse uterus contains the highest levels of anandamide (142–1345 pmol/μmol lipid P; 1–7 μg/g wet weight) yet discovered in a mammalian tissue. The levels fluctuate with the state of pregnancy; down-regulation of anandamide levels is associated with uterine receptivity, while up-regulation is correlated with uterine refractoriness to embryo implantation. Anandamide levels are highest during the nonreceptive phase in the pseudopregnant uterus and in the interimplantation sites, and lowest at the site of embryo implantation. The lower levels of uterine anandamide at the implantation sites may be a mechanism by which implanting embryos protect themselves from the detrimental effects of this endogenous ligand. We also observed a reduced rate of zona-hatching of blastocysts in vitro in the presence of anandamide, and inhibition of implantation by systemic administration of a synthetic cannabinoid agonist CP 55,940. These adverse effects were reversed by SR141716A, a specific CB1-R antagonist. Taken together, the results suggest that an aberrant synthesis of anandamide and/or expression of the cannabinoid receptors in the uterus/embryo may account for early pregnancy failure or female infertility.

Using a reverse transcription-coupled PCR, we demonstrated that both brain and spleen type cannabinoid receptor (CB1-R and CB2-R, respectively) mRNAs are expressed in the preimplantation mouse embryo. The CB1-R mRNA expression was coincident with the activation of the embryonic genome late in the two-cell stage, whereas the CB2-R mRNA was present from the one-cell through the blastocyst stages. The major psychoactive component of marijuana (-)-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol [(-)-THC] inhibited forskolin-stimulated cAMP generation in the blastocyst, and this inhibition was prevented by pertussis toxin. However, the inactive cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) failed to influence this response. These results suggest that cannabinoid receptors in the embryo are coupled to inhibitory guanine nucleotide binding proteins. Further, the oviduct and uterus exhibited the enzymatic capacity to synthesize the putative endogenous cannabinoid ligand arachidonylethanolamide (anandamide). Synthetic and natural cannabinoid agonists [WIN 55,212-2, CP 55,940, (-)-THC, and anandamide], but not CBD or arachidonic acid, arrested the development of two-cell embryos primarily between the four-cell and eight-cell stages in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. Anandamide also interfered with the development of eight-cell embryos to blastocysts in culture. The autoradiographic studies readily detected binding of [3H]anandamide in embryos at all stages of development. Positive signals were present in one-cell embryos and all blastomeres of two-cell through four-cell embryos. However, most of the binding sites in eight-cell embryos and morulae were present in the outer cells. In the blastocyst, these signals were primarily localized in the mural trophectoderm with low levels of signals in the polar trophectoderm, while little or no signals were noted in inner cell mass cells.These results establish that the preimplantation mouse embryo is a target for cannabinoid ligands. Consequently, many of the adverse effects of cannabinoids observed during pregnancy could be mediated via these cannabinoid receptors. Although the physiological significance of the cannabinoid ligand-receptor signaling in normal preimplantation embryo development is not yet clear, the regulation of embryonic cAMP and/or Ca2+ levels via this signaling pathway may be important for normal embryonic development and/or implantation.

The present investigation studied the influence of the blastocyst's state of activity on the "window" of implantation in the receptive uterus in the mouse. The receptive state of the uterus is defined as the limited time when the uterine milieu is favorable to blastocyst acceptance and implantation. In the mouse, implantation occurs on day 4 (day 1 = vaginal plug). Ovariectomy in the morning of day 4 prior to preimplantation estrogen secretion results in blastocyst dormancy and delayed implantation. These conditions are maintained by continued progesterone (P4) treatment but can be terminated with an injection of estrogen leading to blastocyst activation and subsequent implantation. Blastocyst transfers into intact pseudopregnant mice demonstrated that the window of implantation on day 4 remains open at least through 1800 h for normal day 4 blastocysts but only up to 1400 h for dormant blastocysts. These results suggested that the blastocyst's state of activity influenced the normally operative window of implantation in the receptive uterus. This finding was further confirmed by inducing conditions of delayed implantation in pregnant donors and pseudopregnant recipients. They were ovariectomized on the morning of day 4 and maintained with daily injections of P4 from days 5 to 7. On day 7, dormant blastocysts from P4-treated delayed donors were transferred into the uteri of P4-treated delayed pseudopregnant recipients at 1, 2, 4, or 8 h after an injection of 17 beta-estradiol (E2). Dormant blastocysts transferred into delayed recipients at 1 h after E2 treatment resulted in implantation in most of the animals as compared to complete failure of blastocysts to implant after transfer to P4-treated delayed recipients at 4 or 8 h after E2 treatment. However, implantation did occur in P4-treated delayed recipients at these later hours of E2 treatment when the P4-treated delayed donors also received E2 prior to blastocyst transfer. Furthermore, the majority of day 4 normal blastocysts implanted when transferred into P4-treated delayed recipients even at 16 h after E2 treatment. Interestingly, day 7 dormant blastocysts cultured for 8 or 24 h for in vitro activation failed to implant after transfer to P4-treated delayed pseudopregnant recipients at 4 ir 8 h after E2 treatment, although they did implant after transfer at 1 h after E2 treatment. As expected, normal day 4 blastocysts failed to implant after transfer to P4-treated delayed pseudopregnant recipients. Thus, these results establish that the blastocyst's state of activity alters the timing of implantation (window) in the receptive uterus. Thus, the window for successful implantation could be defined as a limited time span when the activated stage of the blastocyst is superimposed on the receptive state of the uterus. This window remains open for a shorter period for dormant blastocysts than for a normal or dormant blastocysts after E2 activation. Furthermore, dormant blastocysts, which apparently achieved metabolic activation in vitro, failed to attain the same status as blastocysts activated in utero by E2 for implantation into the receptive uterus. A key finding of this investigation is that E2 induces very rapidly, but transiently (1 h), a factor(s) in the P4-primed uterus that activates the dormant blastocysts for implantation in the receptive uterus.

Antisense DNA inhibition of gene expression was explored as an approach toward elucidating mechanisms regulating development of preimplantation mammalian embryos. Specifically, a role for the c-myc protooncogene was examined. Detection of c-myc mRNA and immunoreactive nuclear c-myc protein in preimplantation mouse embryos at the eight-cell/morula and blastocyst stages suggested that this DNA-binding protein could be important during early embryo-genesis. The effects of c-myc oligodeoxyribonucleotides (oligos) on the in vitro development of two-cell mouse embryos were examined. Embryos cultured in medium containing an unmodified (phosphodiester) antisense c-myc oligo complementary to the translation initiation codon and spanning the first seven codons exhibited a dose-dependent arrest at the eight-cell/morula stage. At lower concentrations (7.5 microM) this inhibitory effect was specific to the antisense oligo and did not occur with the sense-strand complement or with duplexes of the antisense and sense oligos. However, at 4-fold higher concentrations of DNA (30 microM), all unmodified c-myc oligos were embryotoxic, causing embryos to arrest at the two-cell to four-cell stages. In contrast, almost all (98%) two-cell embryos cultured with a modified (chimeric phosphorothioate/phosphodiester) antisense c-myc oligo (7.5 microM) exhibited developmental arrest at the eight-cell/morula stage, whereas no developmental arrest occurred following incubation with high concentrations of the modified sense complement (30 microM). Culture of freshly recovered eight-cell embryos with antisense c-myc led to the absence of c-myc protein but no change in epidermal growth factor receptor in those embryos that developed a blastocoel. These effects on c-myc were specific for the antisense oligo. These results suggest that c-myc function becomes particularly critical for preimplantation mouse embryos at the eight-cell/morula stage of development and establish that antisense DNA can be successfully applied as an approach toward elucidating the roles of specific genes in preimplantation mammalian embryo development.