Cysteine dioxygenase and taurine are essential for embryo implantation by involving in E2-ERα and P4-PR signaling in mouse

• Published in: 畜牧与生物技术杂志（英文版） Vol. 14; no. 3; pp. 1040 - 1053
• Main Authors: Di Zhang, Zhijuan Wang, Xuan Luo, Hongzhou Guo, Guobin Qiu, Yuneng Gong, Hongxu Gao, Sheng Cui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: College of Veterinary Medicine,Yangzhou University,YYangzhou,Jiangsu 225009,People's Republic of China 2023; Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses,Yangzhou University,Yangzhou 225009,People's Republic of China%State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology,College of Biological Sciences,China Agricultural University,100193 Beijing,People's Republic of China%College of Veterinary Medicine,Yangzhou University,YYangzhou,Jiangsu 225009,People's Republic of China; Institute of Reproduction and Metabolism,Yangzhou University,225009 Jiangsu,People's Republic of China; Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses,Yangzhou University,Yangzhou 225009,People's Republic of China
• Subjects: Embryo implantation; Taurine; P4; E2; CDO
• ISSN: 1674-9782; 2049-1891

Background Taurine performs multiple physiological functions,and the maintenance of taurine level for most mam-mals relies on active uptake from diet and endogenous taurine synthesis through its synthesis enzymes,including cysteine dioxygenase(CDO).In addition,uterus tissue and uterus fluid are rich in taurine,and taurine synthesis is regulated by estrogen(E2)and progesterone(P4),the key hormones priming embryo-uterine crosstalk during embryo implantation,but the functional interactions and mechanisms among which are largely unknown.The present study was thus proposed to identify the effects of CDO and taurine on embryo implantation and related mechanisms by using Cdo knockout(KO)and ovariectomy(OVX)mouse models.Results The uterine CDO expression was assayed from the first day of plugging(d 1)to d 8 and the results showed that CDO expression level increased from d 1 to d 4,followed by a significant decline on d 5 and persisted to d 8,which was highly correlated with serum and uterine taurine levels,and serum P4 concentration.Next,Cdo KO mouse was established by CRISPER/Cas9.It was showed that Cdo deletion sharply decreased the taurine levels both in serum and uterus tissue,causing implantation defects and severe subfertility.However,the implantation defects in Cdo KO mice were partly rescued by the taurine supplementation.In addition,Cdo deletion led to a sharp decrease in the expressions of P4 receptor(PR)and its responsive genes Ihh,Hoxa10 and Hand2.Although the expression of uterine estrogen receptor(ERα)had no significant change,the levels of ERα induced genes(Muc1,Ltf)during the implanta-tion window were upregulated after Cdo deletion.These accompanied by the suppression of stroma cell proliferation.Meanwhile,E2 inhibited CDO expression through ERα and P4 upregulated CDO expression through PR.Conclusion The present study firstly demonstrates that taurine and CDO play prominent roles in uterine receptiv-ity and embryo implantation by involving in E2-ERα and P4-PR signaling.These are crucial for our understanding the mechanism of embryo implantation,and infer that taurine is a potential agent for improving reproductive efficiency of livestock industry and reproductive medicine.