RESEARCH ARTICLE Molecular Reproduction & Development 81:1053–1061 (2014) Mating Decreases Plasma Levels of TGFb1 and Regulates Myosalpinx Expression of TGFb1/TGFBR3 in the Rat MAR  IA L. OR  OSTICA, 1,2 JOHN L  OPEZ, 1,2 LIDIA M. ZU ~ NIGA, 3 DANIELLA UTZ, 1 PATRICIA D  IAZ, 1,2 PATRICIA REUQUEN, 1,2 ALEXIS PARADA-BUSTAMANTE, 4 HUGO CARDENAS 1,2 , AND PEDRO A. ORIHUELA 1,2 * 1 Laboratorio de Inmunolog  ıa de la Reproducci  on, Facultad de Qu  ımica y Biolog  ıa, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile 2 Centro Para el Desarrollo en Nanociencia y Nanotecnolog  ıa-CEDENNA, Santiago, Chile 3 Departamento de Biomedicina, Universidad de Antofagasta, Santiago, Chile 4 Instituto de Investigaciones Materno-Infantil, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile SUMMARY Mating shuts down a 2-methoxyestradiol (2ME)-dependent, non-genomic activity that is responsible for accelerating egg transport in the rat oviduct. The aims of this work were to investigate the role of TGFb1 in this 2ME-reduced activity and to determine the effect of mating on the expression and distribution of TGFb1 and its receptor TGFBR3 in the rat oviduct. We determined the level of TGFb1 in the plasma and oviductal fluid at 1, 3, or 6 hr during Day 1 of the oestrous cycle in unmated or mated animals. We then examined if 2ME accelerates oviductal egg transport in unmated rats that were previously treated with a neutralizing TGFb1 antibody. The expression of Tgfb1 and Tgfbr3 mRNA and the level and distribution of TGFBR3 protein in the oviduct were also determined at these time points. Mating decreased TGFb1 in the plasma, but not in the oviductal fluid, whereas antibody neutralization of circulating TGFb1 did not prevent the effect of 2ME on egg transport. Mating decreased Tgfb1 and hastened the increase in TGFBR3 abundance in the myosal- pinx. These results indicate that mating decreased circulating levels of TGFb1 without shutting down the non-genomic 2ME response that normally accelerates egg transport. Levels of Tgfb1 transcript and TGFBR3 protein, however, changed in the myosalpinx of mated rats, suggesting a role for mating-associated factors in the autocrine and paracrine effects of TGFb in the oviduct. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 81: 1053À1061, 2014. ß 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Received 18 July 2014; Accepted 23 September 2014 Ã Correspondence author: Laboratorio de Inmunolog  ıa de la Reproducci on Facultad de Qu  ımica y Biolog  ıa Universidad de Santiago de Chile Alameda 3363, Casilla 40, Correo 33 Santiago, Chile. E-mail: pedro.orihuela@usach.cl Grant sponsor: FONDECYT; Grant numbers: 1080523, 1110662 Grant sponsor: Proyecto BASAL FB0807 Published online 30 October 2014 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/mrd.22427 INTRODUCTION Mating impacts female physiology through signals that originate from three principal components, including sen- sory stimulation, seminal fluid, and sperm. Mating also affects the molecular, cellular, and tissue physiology of reproductive organs near or beyond the site of insemination (Erskine, 1995; reviewed in Robertson, 2005). In unmated rats, for example, estradiol (E 2 ) accelerates ovum transport via non-genomic activity that requires the conversion of E 2 to 2-methoxyestradiol (2ME), and successive activation of estrogen receptors, cyclic AMP-protein kinase A (PKA), and phospholipase C (PLC)-inositol-3-phosphate (IP3) Abbreviations: 2ME, 2-methoxyestradiol; E2, estradiol; TGFb1, transform- ing growth factor beta 1; TGFBR1, transforming growth factor beta receptor type 1; TNF-a, tumor necrosis factor alpha. ß 2014 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.