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Detection of Nascent and/or Mature Forms of Oviductin in the Female Reproductive Tract and Post-ovulatory Oocytes by Use of a Polyclonal Antibody Against Recombinant Hamster Oviductin

Deborah S. McBride, Chantale Boisvert, Gilles Bleau and Frederick W.K. Kan

Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (DSM,FWKK); Notre-Dame Hospital Research Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (CB); and Saint-Luc Hospital Research Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (GB)

Correspondence to: Dr. Frederick W.K. Kan, Dept. of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6. E-mail: kanfwk{at}post.queensu.ca

Oviductins belong to a family of glycoproteins that have been suggested to play several roles during the early processes of reproduction. Recently, a polyclonal antibody was raised against recombinant hamster oviductin (rhaOv_m). Here the anti-rhaOv_m antibody was used to investigate the sites of localization of oviductin in the female golden hamster. In the hamster oviduct, immunolabeling was restricted to the content of the Golgi saccules and secretory granules of the non-ciliated oviduct cells. After its release into the lumen, oviductin becomes associated with the zona pellucida of post-ovulatory oocytes. In unfertilized oocytes, oviductin was also detected in membrane invaginations along the oolemma and in some vesicles within the ooplasm. Furthermore, oviductin was detected over the microvilli and within multivesicular bodies of uterine epithelial cells. Western blotting analysis revealed the presence of oviductin in the hamster oviduct but not in the uterus or ovary. In the oviduct, the anti-rhaOv_m antibody detected a polydispersed band corresponding to native oviductin (160–350 kD) and several lower molecular weight bands (<100 kD) corresponding to nascent and partially glycosylated forms of oviductin. The anti-rhaOv_m antibody provides an additional tool for investigation into the cytochemical and biochemical properties of different forms of hamster oviductin in the female reproductive tract. (J Histochem Cytochem 52:1001–1009, 2004)

Key Words: golden hamster • oviduct secretion • oviductin • oviduct • uterus • ovary • ovum

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