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Polyamines Are Essential in Embryo Implantation: Expression and Function of Polyamine-Related Genes in Mouse Uterus during Peri-Implantation Period

Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Cell Biology and Tumor Cell Engineering (Y.-C.Z., Z.-M.Y.), College of Life Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China; and College of Life Science (Y.-C.Z., Y.-J.C., Y.-S.Y., J.-L.L., R.-W.S., X.-H.M., C.-H.S., Z.-M.Y.), Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Zeng-Ming Yang, College of Life Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China. E-mail: zmyang{at}xmu.edu.cn.

Polyamines are key regulators in cell growth and differentiation. It has been shown that ornithine decarboxylase (Odc) was essential for post-implantation embryo development, and overexpression of spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase will lead to ovarian hypofunction and hypoplastic uteri. However, the expression and function of polyamine-related genes in mouse uterus during early pregnancy are still unknown. In this study we investigated the expression, regulation, and function of polyamine-related genes in mouse uterus during the peri-implantation period. Odc expression was strongly detected at implantation sites and stimulated by estrogen treatment. The expression of Odc antizyme 1 and spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase was also highly shown at implantation sites and regulated by Odc or polyamine level in uterine cells. Embryo implantation was significantly inhibited by -difluoromethylornithine, an Odc inhibitor. Moreover, the reduction of Odc activity caused by -difluoromethylornithine treatment was compensated by the up-regulation of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase gene expression. Collectively, our results indicated that the coordinated expression of uterine polyamine-related genes may be important for embryo implantation.