Establishment of pregnancy in ruminants requires conceptus elongation and production of interferon tau (IFNT), the pregnancy recognition signal that maintains the corpus luteum and progesterone (P4) secretion. The enzymes hydroxysteroid (11-beta) dehydrogenase 1 (HSD11B1) and HSD11B2 catalyze the interconversion of inactive cortisone and active cortisol, which is a biologically active glucorticoid and ligand for the receptor subfamily 3, group C, member 1 (glucocorticoid receptor) (NR3C1). The activity of HSD11B1 is stimulated by P4, prostaglandins, and cortisol. These studies determined the effects of pregnancy, P4, and IFNT on HSD11B1, HSD11B2, prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (prostaglandin G/H synthase and cyclooxygenase) (PTGS2), and nuclear NR3C1 in the ovine uterus. Endometrial HSD11B1 mRNA levels were more abundant between Days 12 and 16 of pregnancy than the estrous cycle, and HSD11B1 and PTGS2 expression in the endometrial luminal and superficial glandular epithelia was coincident with conceptus elongation. HSD11B1 mRNA was very low in the conceptus, whereas HSD11B2 mRNA was abundant in the conceptus but not in the uterus. Treatment of ewes with P4 induced, and intrauterine infusions of IFNT modestly stimulated, HSD11B1 expression in the endometrial luminal and superficial glandular epithelia. In all of the studies, HSD11B1 and PTGS2 expression was coincident in the endometrial epithelia, and NR3C1 was present in all endometrial cell types. Collectively, these results support hypotheses that endometrial epithelial HSD11B1 expression is induced by P4 as well as stimulated by IFNT and PTGS2-derived prostaglandins and that HSD11B1-regenerated cortisol acts via NR3C1 to regulate ovine endometrial functions during early pregnancy.

Establishment of pregnancy in ruminants requires blastocyst growth to form an elongated conceptus that produces interferon tau, the pregnancy recognition signal, and initiates implantation. Blastocyst growth and development requires secretions from the uterine endometrium. An early increase in circulating concentrations of progesterone (P4) stimulates blastocyst growth and elongation in ruminants. This study utilized sheep as a model to identify candidate genes and regulatory networks in the endometrium that govern preimplantation blastocyst growth and development. Ewes were treated daily with either P4 or corn oil vehicle from day 1.5 after mating to either day 9 or day 12 of pregnancy when endometrium was obtained by hysterectomy. Microarray analyses revealed many differentially expressed genes in the endometria affected by day of pregnancy and early P4 treatment. In situ hybridization analyses revealed that many differentially expressed genes were expressed in a cell-specific manner within the endometrium. The Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) was used to identify functional groups of genes and biological processes in the endometrium that are associated with growth and development of preimplantation blastocysts. Notably, biological processes affected by day of pregnancy and/or early P4 treatment included lipid biosynthesis and metabolism, angiogenesis, transport, extracellular space, defense and inflammatory response, proteolysis, amino acid transport and metabolism, and hormone metabolism. This transcriptomic data provides novel insights into the biology of endometrial function and preimplantation blastocyst growth and development in sheep.

Establishment of pregnancy in ruminants requires conceptus elongation and production of interferon-tau (IFNT), the pregnancy recognition signal that maintains ovarian progesterone (P4) production. These studies determined temporal and spatial alterations in IGF binding protein (IGFBP)-1 and IGFBP3 in the ovine and bovine uterus; effects of P4 and IFNT on their expression in the ovine uterus; and effects of IGFBP1 on ovine trophectoderm cell proliferation, migration, and attachment. IGFBP1 and IGFBP3 were studied because they are the only IGFBPs specifically expressed by the endometrial luminal epithelia in sheep. In sheep, IGFBP1 and IGFBP3 expression was coordinate with the period of conceptus elongation, whereas only IGFBP1 expression was coordinate with conceptus elongation in cattle. IGFBP1 mRNA in the ovine endometria was between 5- and 29-fold more abundant between d 12 and 16 of pregnancy compared with the estrous cycle and greater on d 16 of pregnancy than nonpregnancy in the bovine uterus. In sheep, P4 induced and IFNT stimulated expression of IGFBP1 but not IGFBP3; however, the effect of IFNT did not mimic the abundant increase observed in pregnant ewes. Therefore, IGFBP1 expression in the endometrium is regulated by another factor from the conceptus. IGFBP1 did not affect the proliferation of ovine trophectoderm cells in vitro but did stimulate their migration and mediate their attachment. These studies reveal that IGFBP1 is a common endometrial marker of conceptus elongation in sheep and cattle and most likely regulates conceptus elongation by stimulating migration and attachment of the trophectoderm.

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Body temperature maintenance is one of the most important physiological processes initiated after birth. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is an essential mediator of thermogenesis in many species and is responsible for 50% of the heat generated in the newborn lamb. To determine if maternal arginine supplementation could enhance thermogenesis in the neonate, we randomly assigned 31 multiparous Suffolk ewes, gestating singletons or twins, to receive intravenous injections of either l-arginine (27 mg/kg body weight; n = 17) or sterile saline (n = 14) three times daily from day 75 to 125 of gestation (term = 147). Following parturition, lambs were removed from their mothers and subjected to 0 °C cold challenges at 4 and 22 h of age. Rectal temperatures were higher for the duration of the cold challenges in lambs from arginine-treated ewes compared with lambs from saline-treated ewes (P < 0.05). Elevated rectal temperatures were associated with increased (P < 0.05) circulating glycine and serine concentrations in lambs. The mRNA expression of genes related to BAT function changed over time, but not between lambs from arginine-treated vs. saline-treated ewes. Results indicate that maternal arginine treatment increases neonatal thermogenesis after birth. Although the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated, these data are a first step in improving neonatal survival in response to cold.