engleski

The role of gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the regulation of endocervical epithelium secretory activity

Introduction: Endocervical secretory epithelium produces cervical mucus, a glycoprotein gel that accepts, filters, prepares, stores and releases sperm for transport to the oviduct for fertilization, as well as provides a barrier to the infection. The mechanisms of mucus secretion in the cervix are poorly investigated. We have proposed a new model of regulation of mucus secretion that involves action potential independent activity of GABA molecules. Methods: To test this hypothesis, we analyzed mouse and human endocervical tissue for the presence of GABA receptors by immunohistochemistry. Reuslts: In accordance with our model, the results showed that GABAR-A is present in the endocervical tissue of both human and mouse. These results present a scientific novelty and show that our model is realistically set up. Discussion: The main goal of our current efforts is to establish a 3D epithelial cell culture in order to investigate the effect of estrogen on GABA signaling pathway action. We will test the expression of estrogen receptors in cells that show positive signal with the markers of GABA release. By applying inhibitors or activators of various receptors and by immunohistochemical and electron microscopy analysis we will investigate the effect of estrogen on mucin exocytosis. Conclusion: Preliminary results support our hypothesis and further research will enable us to explore the molecular mechanism of endocervical epithelium secretory activity. Ethical approval: All experiments received approval of the Internal Review Board of the Ethical Committee of the School of Medicine, University of Zagreb. All expe

endocervical, mucus, gaba, cell culture

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