# Epithelial Regeneration in the Adult Oviduct

> **NIH NIH F32** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2022 · $35,867

## Abstract

Project Summary
Despite the prevalence of female reproductive pathologies, such as endometriosis and ectopic pregnancy, there
is shockingly little known about the molecular or cell biology of the organs involved. This proposal focuses on
the oviduct, because the oviduct serves as the conduit between the ovary and uterus, and is the site of
mammalian fertilization. While the oviduct is a critical site for female fertility, how oviduct physiology is regulated
at the genetic, molecular, and cellular level is almost completely unknown. Like all female reproductive organs,
the oviduct undergoes recurrent tissue morphogenesis in response to the cyclical hormonal changes of the
estrous cycle, which is the fundamental hormonal regulator that allows all mammals, including humans, to
become pregnant. The oviduct is lined by a single layer of epithelium which is composed of multiciliated and
secretory cells. The multiciliated cells (MCCs) project hundreds of motile cilia from their apical surface, where
they beat together and are hypothesized to capture the ovulated oocyte and sweep it down the oviduct. The
MCCs remodel dramatically during the estrous cycle: during the first half of the cycle, the percentage of MCCs
increases and peaks at ovulation, after which the percentage of MCCs decreases significantly. While oviduct
epithelial remodeling is known to occur, it is completely unclear how these remodeling events are regulated.
Does oviduct MCC remodeling occur via apoptosis or deciliation? Do stem cells participate in these remodeling
events? In multiciliated tissues, cilia beat together because the tissue is planar polarized. How is planar cell
polarity of the oviduct lost and regained throughout the estrous cycle? Finally, how are these remodeling events
regulated at the genetic level? This proposal seeks to explore oviduct MCC remodeling using a combination of
mouse genetics, high resolution imaging of cell shapes and behaviors, in vivo imaging of oviduct fluid flow, and
unbiased genomic analysis. The work proposed here will provide new insights into the turnover of oviduct
multiciliated cells and the genomic control of oviduct epithelial homeostasis (Aim 1), and the establishment of
planar cell polarity in the oviduct (Aim 2) during the estrous cycle. Understanding the genetic, molecular, and
cellular basis of MCC remodeling of the oviduct during the estrous cycle holds therapeutic promise for treating
female infertility and improving the success rates of in vitro fertilization.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10542901
- **Project number:** 3F32HD095618-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Elle Roberson
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $35,867
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-01-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10542901

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10542901, Epithelial Regeneration in the Adult Oviduct (3F32HD095618-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10542901. Licensed CC0.

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