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Abstract: In this talk, I would like to discuss our work exploring the effects of a mutation at the Wnt4 locus. This common human SNP has been repeatedly associated with antagonistic pleiotropic effects on pregnancy length and endometriosis, among other reproductive phenotypes. We showed previously that the minor allele is known to generate a novel perfect binding site for estrogen receptor alpha. Using transgenic mouse lines with this mutation, we showed that it causes upregulation of Wnt4 expression in mouse endometrial stromal cells following the preovulatory estrogen peak. Notably, the pregnancy length in these mice is not affected. However, together with upregulation of Wnt4 in mutants, we see a series of phenotypes that suggest an effect on implantation, and appear at odds with previous findings that endometriosis is associated with diminished progesterone response. I will discuss the published work, as well as some of the more recent findings.

Biography: Mihaela Pavlicev is Professor for Theoretical Evolutionary Biology at the University of Vienna. Her studies led her from a PhD in Ecology at the University of Vienna, over postdoctoral positions in Evolutionary Quantitative Genetics in St. Louis (USA) and Oslo (Norway), to a research professorship at Cincinnati Children鈥檚 Hospital Research Center in 2013. During the latter, her work increasingly focused on the genetic basis of mammalian reproductive traits, among which pregnancy length featured strongly. In 2019, Pavlicev returned to Vienna to take on her current position. In her research, she addresses the genetic bases and the evolution of reproductive traits.