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. 2021 Jan 25;19(1):87-96.
doi: 10.18502/ijrm.v19i1.8183. eCollection 2021 Jan.

Chronic stress increases the tyrosine phosphorylation in female reproductive organs: An experimental study

Sudtida Bunsueb  1 , Natthapol Lapyuneyong  1 , Saranya Tongpan  1 , Supatcharee Arun  1 , Sitthichai Iamsaard  1   2
Affiliations

Chronic stress increases the tyrosine phosphorylation in female reproductive organs: An experimental study

Sudtida Bunsueb et al. Int J Reprod Biomed. .

Abstract

Background: Changes in tyrosine-phosphorylated (TyrPho) protein expressions have demonstrated stress in males. In females, chronic stress (CS) is a major cause of infertility, especially anovulation. However, the tyrosine phosphorylation in the female reproductive system under stress conditions has never been reported.

Objective: To investigate the alteration of TyrPho protein expression in ovary, oviduct, and uterus of CS rats.

Materials and methods: In this experimental study, 16 female Sprague-Dawley rats (5 wk: 220-250 gr) were divided into control and CS groups (n = 8/group). Every day, the CS animals were immobilized within a restraint cage and individually forced to swim in cold water for 60 consecutive days. Following the stress induction, the ovary, oviduct, and uterus of all rats were observed for their morphologies. The total protein profiles of all tissues were revealed by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) before detecting TyrPho proteins using western blot. Intensity analysis was used to compare the expression of proteins between groups.

Results: The results showed that the morphology and weights of ovary and oviduct in the CS group were not different from control. In contrast, the CS significantly increased the uterine weight as compared to control. Moreover, the expressions of TyrPho proteins in the ovary (72, 43, and 28 kDas), oviduct (170, 55, and 43 kDas), and uterus (55, 54, and 43 kDas) were increased in CS group as compared to those of control.

Conclusion: The increased expressions of TyrPho proteins in ovary, oviduct, and uterus could be potential markers used to explain some machanisms of female infertility caused from chronic stress.

Keywords: Phosphorylation.; Uterus; Ovary; Oviduct.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest in the present study.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Representative western-blot analysis of the StAR protein and heat shock protein70 (Hsp70) expressions in adrenal lysates (200 μg total protein amount) of the control and chronic stress (CS) groups. β-actin was used as an internal control.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Representative morphological photographs (left panel) and absolute weights (right panel) of the ovary (A), oviduct (B), and uterus (C) in the comparison between the control and CS groups (white scale bar for 0.5 cm).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Tyrosine phosphorylation in the ovary lysates of the control and CS groups. Representative ovarian lysates protein profiles revealed by SDS-PAGE stained with Coomassie brilliant blue (A). Western blotting of TyrPho proteins (B). The relative intensity of ovary 72, 43, and 28 TyrPho proteins (C). *P < 0.05, statistically significant difference as compared to the control. BSA: Bovine serum albumin used as a negative control; Con: Control; EGF: Epidermal growth factor used as a positive control; kDa: Kilodalton; MW: Molecular weight.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Tyrosine phosphorylation in the oviduct lysates of the control and CS rats. Representative ovarian lysates protein profiles revealed by SDS-PAGE stained with Coomassie brilliant blue (A). Western blotting of TyrPho proteins (B). Relative intensities of oviductal 170, 55, and 43 TyrPho proteins (C). *P < 0.05, statistically significant difference as compared to control.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Representative ovarian lysates protein profiles revealed by SDS-PAGE stained with Coomassie brilliant blue (A). Western blotting of TyrPho proteins (B). Relative intensities of uterine 55, 54, and 43 TyrPho proteins (C). *P < 0.05, statistically significant difference as compared to control.
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