Human oviductin mRNA expression is not maintained in oviduct mucosal cell culture

Objective: To determine whether oviduct mucosal cell culture supports the continued production of oviductin, a putative embryotrophic protein. Design: Semiquantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of oviductin messenger RNA (mRNA) expression after oviduct mucosal cell culture. Setting: University-based obstetrics and gynecology department. Patient(s): Ten women undergoing laparoscopy for tubal sterilization or hysterectomy for uterine fibroids.. Intervention(s): The mucosal layer was isolated from the oviduct tissue and subjected to routine culture conditions; semiquantitative RT-PCR was performed. Main Outcome Measure(s): The relationship between duration of cell culture and expression of oviductin mRNA. Result(s): There was a significant reduction in oviductin mRNA expression after 3 days in culture, with a complete loss after 6 days in 70% of the samples and after 12 days in the remaining 30%. Conclusion(s): This is the first study to investigate whether oviductin mRNA continues to be expressed in cultured human oviduct mucosal cells. Our results suggest that oviduct mucosal cells lose their ability to produce oviductin after short-term culture. This method of culture does not appear to be appropriate for a coculture system reliant upon oviductal secretion of oviductin.