Loss of ESR1 in uterine epithelial cells leads to a semen liquefaction defect in female mice.

<p><b>A.</b> Immunohistochemical analysis indicates the expression of ESR1 in the uteri of <i>Esr1</i>^f/f mice and its absence in <i>Wnt7a</i>^Cre/+;<i>Esr1</i>^f/f animals at 0.5 dpc. LE = luminal epithelial cells; GE = glandular epithelial cells. <b>B.</b> Gross morphology of the reproductive tract of <i>Esr1</i>^f/f and <i>Wnt7a</i>^Cre/+;<i>Esr1</i>^f/f animals at 0.5 dpc. <b>C.</b> Diameters of the uteri prior to dissection at 0.5 dpc, n = 9–10 mice/genotype. <b>D.</b> Total fluid volume (μL) collected from the uteri of <i>Esr1</i>^f/f and <i>Wnt7a</i>^Cre/+;<i>Esr1</i>^f/f animals at 0.5 dpc, n = 3 mice/genotype. <b>E.</b> Expression of <i>Aqp</i> transcripts in the uteri at 0.5 dpc, n = 4–5 mice/genotype. <b>F.</b> Liquefaction time measured as the time it took for semen collected from the uteri at 0.5 dpc to fill a 25-μL capillary tube (minutes). Note that the liquefaction time for semen collected from <i>Wnt7a</i>^Cre/+;<i>Esr1</i>^f/f uteri was over 1 h (>60 min), n = 3 mice/genotype. <b>G.</b> Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) staining of uterine samples collected at 0.5 dpc, n = 9–10 mice/genotype. <b>H.</b> Sperm density was determined from the semen within the uterine lumen per microscopic field of H&E stained images and normalized to mm², n = 7–10 mice/genotype. <b>I.</b> Total sperm number in the uterus was calculated after normalization to the total fluid volume collected, n = 3 mice/genotype. <b>J.</b> Percentage of sperm motility per microscopic field in the semen collected from the uteri of <i>Esr1</i>^f/f and <i>Wnt7a</i>^Cre/+;<i>Esr1</i>^f/f animals at 0.5 dpc, n = 3 mice/genotype. *, ^#<i>p</i><0.05; significant difference between <i>Esr1</i>^f/f and <i>Wnt7a</i>^Cre/+;<i>Esr1</i>^f/f animals, unpaired <i>t-</i>test or two-way ANOVA, respectively. Representative images are shown. Graphs represent mean±SEM.