Evolutionary Analysis of the Mammalian IL-17 Cytokine Family Suggests Conserved Roles in Female Fertility

Problem: The interleukin-17 (IL-17) family includes pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-17A-F with important roles in mucosal defence, barrier integrity and tissue regeneration. IL-17A can be dysregulated in fertility complications, including pre-eclampsia, endometriosis and miscarriage. Because mammalian subclasses (eutherian, metatherian, and prototherian) have different related reproductive strategies, IL-17 genes and proteins were investigated in the three mammalian classes to explore their involvement in female fertility.

Method of study: Gene and protein sequences for IL-17s are found in eutherian, metatherian and prototherian mammals. Through synteny and multiple sequence protein alignment, the relationships among mammalian IL-17s were inferred. Publicly available datasets of early pregnancy stages and female fertility in therian mammals were collected and analysed to retrieve information on IL-17 expression.

Results: Synteny mapping and phylogenetic analyses allowed the classification of mammalian IL-17 family orthologs of human IL-17. Despite differences in their primary amino acid sequence, metatherian and prototherian IL-17s share the same tertiary structure as human IL-17s, suggesting similar functions. The analysis of available datasets for female fertility in therian mammals shows up-regulation of IL-17A and IL-17D during placentation. IL-17B and IL-17D are also found to be over-expressed in human fertility complication datasets, such as endometriosis or recurrent implantation failure.

Conclusions: The conservation of the IL-17 gene and protein across mammals suggests similar functions in all the analysed species. Despite significant differences, the upregulation of IL-17 expression is associated with the establishment of pregnancy in eutherian and metatherian mammals. The dysregulation of IL-17s in human reproductive disorders suggests them as a potential therapeutic target.