The effect of exogenous estradiol treatment on the mRNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptors in cultured human oviduct mucosal cells

Purpose: To evaluate the responses of cultured oviduct mucosal cells to exogenous estradiol treatment in regulating the mRNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors. Methods: The mucosal layer of the ampullary regions of the human oviduct was isolated and cultured with (study groups) or without (control group) the addition of exogenous estradiol in five different concentrations. Semi quantitative reverse-transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was performed on the oviduct mucosal cells before and after the 6-day culture. Results: There were no significant differences in the mRNA expression of VEGF and its receptors, both KDR and flt-1, between the five study groups and the control group. Conclusions: The mRNA expression of VEGF and its receptors is not altered by exogenous estradiol treatment in cultured oviduct. This helps to explain the mechanism of temporal regulation of VEGF in human oviduct, which reaches the peak level in the peri-ovulatory stage when both the serum estradiol and gonadotropins concentrations are high.