ORCID Profile
0000-0001-9841-2094
Current Organisation
University of Adelaide
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-05-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S42003-021-02038-9
Abstract: Seminal fluid factors modulate the female immune response at conception to facilitate embryo implantation and reproductive success. Whether sperm affect this response has not been clear. We evaluated global gene expression by microarray in the mouse uterus after mating with intact or vasectomized males. Intact males induced greater changes in gene transcription, prominently affecting pro-inflammatory cytokine and immune regulatory genes, with TLR4 signaling identified as a top-ranked upstream driver. Recruitment of neutrophils and expansion of peripheral regulatory T cells were elevated by seminal fluid of intact males. In vitro, epididymal sperm induced IL6, CXCL2, and CSF3 in uterine epithelial cells of wild-type, but not Tlr4 null females. Collectively these experiments show that sperm assist in promoting female immune tolerance by eliciting uterine cytokine expression through TLR4-dependent signaling. The findings indicate a biological role for sperm beyond oocyte fertilization, in modulating immune mechanisms involved in female control of reproductive investment.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-06-2017
DOI: 10.1002/MRD.22823
Abstract: The reproductive tract environment at conception programs the developmental trajectory of the embryo, sets the course of pregnancy, and impacts offspring phenotype and health. Despite the fundamental importance of this stage of reproduction, the rate-limiting regulatory mechanisms operating locally to control fertility and fecundity are incompletely understood. Emerging studies highlight roles for microRNAs (miRNAs) in regulating reproductive and developmental processes and in modulating the quality and strength of the female immune response. Since endometrial receptivity and robust placentation require specific adaptation of the immune response, we hypothesize that miRNAs participate in establishing pregnancy through effects on key gene networks in immune cells. Our recent studies investigated miRNAs that are induced in the peri-conception environment, focusing on miRNAs that have immune-regulatory roles-particularly miR-223, miR-155, and miR-146a. Genetic mouse models deficient in in idual miRNAs are proving informative in defining roles for these miRNAs in the generation and stabilization of regulatory T cells (Treg cells) that confer adaptive immune tolerance. Overlapping and redundant functions between miRNAs that target multiple genes, combined with multiple miRNAs targeting in idual genes, indicate complex and sensitive regulatory networks. Although to date most data on miRNA regulation of reproductive events are from mice, conserved functions of miRNAs across species imply similar biological pathways operate in all mammals. Understanding the regulation and roles of miRNAs in the peri-conception immune response will advance our knowledge of how environmental determinants act at conception, and could have practical applications for animal breeding as well as human fertility.
Publisher: The Endocrine Society
Date: 25-06-2021
Abstract: Paternal experiences and exposures before conception can influence fetal development and offspring phenotype. The composition of seminal plasma contributes to paternal programming effects through modulating the female reproductive tract immune response after mating. To investigate whether paternal obesity affects seminal plasma immune-regulatory activity, C57Bl/6 male mice were fed an obesogenic high-fat diet (HFD) or control diet (CD) for 14 weeks. Although HFD consumption caused only minor changes to parameters of sperm quality, the volume of seminal vesicle fluid secretions was increased by 65%, and the concentrations and total content of immune-regulatory TGF-β isoforms were decreased by 75% to 80% and 43% to 55%, respectively. Mating with BALB/c females revealed differences in the strength and properties of the postmating immune response elicited. Transcriptional analysis showed & inflammatory genes were similarly regulated in the uterine endometrium by mating independently of paternal diet, and 13 were dysregulated by HFD-fed compared with CD-fed males. Seminal vesicle fluid factors reduced in HFD-fed males, including TGF-β1, IL-10, and TNF, were among the predicted upstream regulators of differentially regulated genes. Additionally, the T-cell response induced by mating with CD-fed males was blunted after mating with HFD-fed males, with 27% fewer CD4+ T cells, 26% fewer FOXP3+CD4+ regulatory T cells (Treg) cells, and 19% fewer CTLA4+ Treg cells, particularly within the NRP1+ thymic Treg cell population. These findings demonstrate that an obesogenic HFD alters the composition of seminal vesicle fluid and impairs seminal plasma capacity to elicit a favorable pro-tolerogenic immune response in females at conception.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-06-2014
Abstract: There is a real need for simple structures that define a β-strand conformation, a secondary structure that is central to peptide-protein interactions. For ex le, protease substrates and inhibitors almost universally adopt this geometry on active site binding. A planar pyrrole is used to replace two amino acids of a peptide backbone to generate a simple macrocycle that retains the required geometry for active site binding. The resulting β-strand templates have reduced peptide character and provide potent protease inhibitors with the attachment of an appropriate amino aldehyde to the C-terminus. Picomolar inhibitors of cathepsin L and S are reported and the mode of binding of one ex le to the model protease chymotrypsin is defined by X-ray crystallography.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2020
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-01-2016
DOI: 10.1111/AJI.12490
Abstract: To support embryo implantation, the female reproductive tract must provide a tolerogenic immune environment. Seminal fluid contact at conception contributes to activating the endometrial gene expression and immune cell changes required for robust implantation, influencing not only the quality of the ensuing pregnancy but also the health of offspring. miRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that play important regulatory roles in biological processes, including regulation of the immune environment. miRNAs are known to contribute to gene regulation in pregnancy and are altered in pregnancy pathologies. Recent studies indicate that miRNAs participate in establishing immune tolerance at conception, and may contribute to the regulatory effects of seminal fluid in generating tolerogenic dendritic cells and T regulatory cells. This review highlights those miRNAs implicated in programming immune cells that are critical during the peri-conception period and explores how seminal fluid may regulate female tract miRNA expression following coitus.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-08-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-021-95213-1
Abstract: Maternal immune adaptation to accommodate pregnancy depends on sufficient availability of regulatory T (Treg) cells to enable embryo implantation. Toll-like receptor 4 is implicated as a key upstream driver of a controlled inflammatory response, elicited by signals in male partner seminal fluid, to initiate expansion of the maternal Treg cell pool after mating. Here, we report that mice with null mutation in Tlr4 ( Tlr4 −/− ) exhibit impaired reproductive outcomes after allogeneic mating, with reduced pregnancy rate, elevated mid-gestation fetal loss, and fetal growth restriction, compared to Tlr4 +/+ wild-type controls. To investigate the effects of TLR4 deficiency on early events of maternal immune adaptation, TLR4-regulated cytokines and immune regulatory microRNAs were measured in the uterus at 8 h post-mating by qPCR, and Treg cells in uterus-draining lymph nodes were evaluated by flow cytometry on day 3.5 post-coitum. Ptgs2 encoding prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2, cytokines Csf2 , Il6 , Lif, and Tnf , chemokines Ccl2 , Cxcl1 , Cxcl2 , and Cxcl10 , and microRNAs miR-155 , miR-146a , and miR-223 were induced by mating in wild-type mice, but not, or to a lesser extent, in Tlr4 −/− mice. CD4 + T cells were expanded after mating in Tlr4 +/+ but not Tlr4 −/− mice, with failure to expand peripheral CD25 + FOXP3 + NRP1 − or thymic CD25 + FOXP3 + NRP1 + Treg cell populations, and fewer Treg cells expressed Ki67 proliferation marker and suppressive function marker CTLA4. We conclude that TLR4 is an essential mediator of the inflammation-like response in the pre-implantation uterus that induces generation of Treg cells to support robust pregnancy tolerance and ensure optimal fetal growth and survival.
No related grants have been discovered for Hon Yeung Chan.