The endogenous production of hydrogen sulphide in intrauterine tissues
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The endogenous production of hydrogen sulphide in intrauterine tissues Pushpa Patel1, Manu Vatish2, John Heptinstall3, Rui Wang4 and Ray J Carson*5 Address: 1College of Medical & Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK, 2Molecular Medicine Research Group, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK, 3Biomolecular Sciences Dept., Coventry University, Coventry, UK, 4Department of Biology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada and 5Dept of Medical & Social Care Education, School of Medicine, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK Email: Pushpa Patel - [email protected]; Manu Vatish - [email protected]; John Heptinstall - [email protected]; Rui Wang - [email protected]; Ray J Carson* - [email protected] * Corresponding author
Published: 6 February 2009 Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2009, 7:10
doi:10.1186/1477-7827-7-10
Received: 19 September 2008 Accepted: 6 February 2009
This article is available from: http://www.rbej.com/content/7/1/10 © 2009 Patel et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract Background: Hydrogen sulphide is a gas signalling molecule which is produced endogenously from L-cysteine via the enzymes cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) and cystathionine gamma-lyase (CSE). The possible role of hydrogen sulphide in reproduction has not yet been fully investigated. It has been previously demonstrated that hydrogen sulphide relaxes uterine smooth muscle in vitro. The aim of the present study was to investigate the endogenous production of hydrogen sulphide in rat and human intrauterine tissues in vitro. Methods: The production of hydrogen sulphide in rat and human intrauterine tissues was measured in vitro using a standard technique. The expression of CBS and CSE was also investigated in rat and human intrauterine tissues via Western blotting. Furthermore, the effects of nitric oxide (NO) and low oxygen conditions on the production rates of hydrogen sulphide were investigated. Results: The order of hydrogen sulphide production rates (mean +/- SD, n = 4) for rat tissues were: liver (777 +/- 163 nM/min/g) > uterus (168 +/- 100 nM/min/g) > fetal membranes (22.3 +/15.0 nM/min/g) > placenta (11.1 +/- 4.7 nM/min/g), compared to human placenta (200 +/- 102 nM/ min/g). NO significantly increased hydrogen sulphide production in rat fetal membranes (P < 0.05). Under low oxygen conditions the production of hydrogen sulphide was significantly elevated in human placenta, rat liver, uterus and fetal membranes (P < 0.05). Western blotting (n = 4) detected the expression of CBS and CSE in all rat intrauterine tissues, and in human placenta, myometrium, amnion and chorion. Conclusion: Rat and human intrauterine tissues produce hydrogen sulphide in vitro possibly via CBS
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