Lineage tracing suggests that ovarian endosalpingiosis does not result from escape of oviductal epithelium

Abstract

Most high‐grade serous carcinomas are thought to arise from Fallopian tube epithelium (FTE), but some likely arise outside of the tube, perhaps from ectopic tubal‐type epithelium known as endosalpingiosis. Importantly, the origin of endosalpingiosis is poorly understood. The proximity of the tubal fimbriae to the ovaries has led to the proposal that disruptions in the ovarian surface that occur during ovulation may allow detached FTE to implant in the ovary and form tubal‐type glands and cysts. An alternative model suggests that cells present in ectopic locations outside the Müllerian tract retain the capacity for multi‐lineage differentiation and can form glands with tubal‐type epithelium. We used double transgenic Ovgp1‐iCreERT2;R26RLSL‐eYFP mice, which express an eYFP reporter protein in OVGP1‐positive tissues following transient tamoxifen (TAM) treatment, to track the fate of oviductal epithelial cells. Cohorts of adult mice were given TAM to activate eYFP expression in oviductal epithelium, and ovaries were examined at time points ranging from 2 days to 12 months post‐TAM. To test whether superovulation might increase acquisition of endosalpingiosis, additional cohorts of TAM‐treated mice underwent up to five cycles of superovulation and ovaries were examined at 1, 6, and 12 months post‐TAM. Ovaries were sectioned in their entirety to identify endosalpingiosis. Immunohistochemical staining for PAX8, tubulin, OVGP1, and eYFP was employed to study endosalpingiosis lesions. Ovarian endosalpingiosis was identified in 14.2% of TAM‐treated adult mice. The endosalpingiotic inclusion glands and cysts were lined by secretory and ciliated cells and expressed PAX8, tubulin, OVGP1, and eYFP. Neither age nor superovulation was associated with a significant increase in endosalpingiosis. Endosalpingiosis was also occasionally present in the ovaries of pre‐pubertal mice. The findings imply that ovarian endosalpingiosis in the mouse does not likely arise as a consequence of detachment and implantation of tubal epithelium and other mechanisms may be relevant. © 2019 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.