Macrophages regulate corpus luteum development during embryo implantation in mice
Alison S. Care, … , Wendy V. Ingman, Sarah A. Robertson
Alison S. Care, … , Wendy V. Ingman, Sarah A. Robertson
Published July 8, 2013
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2013;123(8):3472-3487. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI60561.
View: Text | PDF
Research Article Reproductive biology

Macrophages regulate corpus luteum development during embryo implantation in mice

Abstract

Macrophages are prominent in the uterus and ovary at conception. Here we utilize the Cd11b-Dtr mouse model of acute macrophage depletion to define the essential role of macrophages in early pregnancy. Macrophage depletion after conception caused embryo implantation arrest associated with diminished plasma progesterone and poor uterine receptivity. Implantation failure was alleviated by administration of bone marrow–derived CD11b+F4/80+ monocytes/macrophages. In the ovaries of macrophage-depleted mice, corpora lutea were profoundly abnormal, with elevated Ptgs2, Hif1a, and other inflammation and apoptosis genes and with diminished expression of steroidogenesis genes Star, Cyp11a1, and Hsd3b1. Infertility was rescued by exogenous progesterone, which confirmed that uterine refractoriness was fully attributable to the underlying luteal defect. In normally developing corpora lutea, macrophages were intimately juxtaposed with endothelial cells and expressed the proangiogenic marker TIE2. After macrophage depletion, substantial disruption of the luteal microvascular network occurred and was associated with altered ovarian expression of genes that encode vascular endothelial growth factors. These data indicate a critical role for macrophages in supporting the extensive vascular network required for corpus luteum integrity and production of progesterone essential for establishing pregnancy. Our findings raise the prospect that disruption of macrophage-endothelial cell interactions underpinning corpus luteum development contributes to infertility in women in whom luteal insufficiency is implicated.

Authors

Alison S. Care, Kerrilyn R. Diener, Melinda J. Jasper, Hannah M. Brown, Wendy V. Ingman, Sarah A. Robertson

×

Figure 1

DT administration to Cd11b-Dtr mice elicits macrophage depletion in the uterus and ovary.

Options: View larger image (or click on image) Download as PowerPoint
DT administration to Cd11b-Dtr mice elicits macrophage depletion in the ...
Tissues were recovered from wild-type control or Cd11b-Dtr mice on day 4.5 pc, 24 hours after i.p. injection of DT (25 ng/g). (A and B) Sections of uterus (A) and ovary (B) labeled with anti-F4/80 indicated few macrophages (arrows) remaining in the uterus and ovary of Cd11b-Dtr mice (right panels; insets are high power) compared with wild-type mice (left panels). Some uterine F4/80+ cells were eosinophils (arrowheads), and these were retained after DT treatment (see Supplemental Figure 1). The percent positivity for F4/80+ cells is shown for wild-type mice (WT +DT) and macrophage-depleted Cd11b-Dtr mice (Cd11b- +DT) administered DT. Ten individual fields per uterus were analyzed, and the number of mice per group is indicated in parentheses. LE, luminal epithelium; Gl, uterine gland; CL, corpus luteum; ST, stroma. Scale bars: 50 μm. (C) Single-cell suspensions recovered from the peritoneal cavity (PEC) or prepared by enzymatic digestion of uterus and ovary were analyzed using FACS with anti-CD11b and anti-F4/80 antibodies, and show substantially diminished CD11b+F4/80+ macrophages in Cd11b-Dtr mice compared with wild-type controls. FACS plots are representative of 4–6 mice per group. Quantitative FACS data are given in Supplemental Table 1. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01.