Extracellular superoxide produced by Enterococcus faecalis reduces endometrial receptivity via inflammatory injury

作者：Zhanhu Zhang, Tianqi Li, Lili Xu, Qiuhong Wang, Haibo Li, Xingmin Wang · 发表于：American Journal of Reproductive Immunology · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1111/aji.13453 · 被引用次数：12 · 研究领域：Reproductive System and Pregnancy、Reproductive tract infections research、Preterm Birth and Chorioamnionitis

PROBLEM: Chronic endometritis (CE) can cause infertility. Enterococcus faecalis is an opportunistic pathogen that is often found in the endometrium of CE patients. However, the mechanisms by which E. faecalis affects endometrial health are still unclear. In this study, we investigated the mechanism how extracellular superoxide produced by E. faecalis affected the endometrial receptivity. METHOD OF STUDY: Superoxide production was blocked by deleting menB gene in E. faecalis OG1RF. Endometrial epithelial cells were infected by superoxide-producing E. faecalis OG1RF and superoxide-deficient strain WY84. Inflammatory cytokines, apoptosis, and biomarkers for the endometrial receptivity were analyzed. RESULTS: Infection of endometrial epithelial cells with superoxide-producing E. faecalis OG1RF induced expression of inflammatory cytokines, promoted apoptosis, and down-regulated expression of receptivity biomarkers compared to uninfected control. In contrast, superoxide-deficient E. faecalis WY84 had little effect on inflammatory cytokine production, apoptosis, and endometrial receptivity biomarkers. CONCLUSIONS: Extracellular superoxide produced by E. faecalis is an important virulence factor for E. faecalis-induced endometritis leading to reduced receptivity of endometrial epithelial cells.