Transforming growth factor beta family expression at the bovine feto-maternal interface
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RESEARCH
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Transforming growth factor beta family expression at the bovine feto-maternal interface Kumiko Sugawara2,1†, Keiichiro Kizaki1†, Chandana B Herath3,4, Yoshihisa Hasegawa5, Kazuyoshi Hashizume1*
Abstract Background: Endometrial remodelling is necessary for implantation in all mammalian species. The TGF beta superfamily plays a crucial role in this event in humans and mice. However, the role of TGF beta super-family members during implantation is still unclear in ruminants. In the present study, the spacio-temporal expression of TGF beta super-family members including activin was explored in bovine trophoblasts and endometrial tissue during the peri-implantation period in order to elucidate whether it is essential for promoting cell proliferation at the implantation site. Methods: Gene expression in the fetal membrane and endometrium of the gravid and non-gravid horn around Day 35 of gestation were analyzed with a custom-made oligo-microarray in cattle. The expression of activin and its related genes was also analyzed with quantitative RT-PCR. Activin-like activity in trophoblastic tissue and BT-1 cells was examined using a fibroblast cell proliferation test and Western blotting. Results: The expression of various TGF beta super-family related genes including activin was detected in trophoblasts and the endometrium in cattle. The most intensive activin expression was found in the gravid horn endometrium, and rather intense expression was detected in the non-gravid trophoblastic tissue. Extracts from the fetal membrane including trophoblasts and purified activin both stimulated fibroblast proliferation effectively, and activin was immunologically detected in BT-1 cells, which have trophoblastic features. Conclusions: Specific expression of the activin gene (gene name: inhibin beta A) was found in the gravid horn endometrium during peri-implantation. An activin-like molecule, which was derived from the endometrium and trophoblasts, stimulated the proliferation of fibroblast cells. These results suggested that as in other species, the activity of TGF beta super-family members including activin-like molecules plays a pivotal role in endometrial remodelling, which is an essential process in implantation and placentogenesis during the peri-implantation period in cattle.
Background Implantation involves a complex process and various kinds of factors, during which time the fetal-maternal interface develops into the placenta. Trophoblast cells and maternal endometrial cells adhere to each other and produce the feto-maternal interface, which represents the beginning of implantation and endometrial remodelling. However, the cells from the fetus and mother only fuse and develop into the placentome in a limited area, namely the caruncle (CAR) on the endometrium in * Correspondence: [email protected] † Contributed equally 1 Laboratory of Veterinary Physiology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Iwate University, Morioka, 020-8550 Iwate, Japan Full list of author information is available at the end of th
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