Endometrial transcript profile of progesterone‐regulated genes during early pregnancy of Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

Abstract

Progesterone (P ) plays a key role in the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy in most mammals. Unravelling the expression of progesterone-regulated genes can expand the understanding of the embryonic mortality. Accordingly, we studied the relative mRNA expression of the P -regulated genes in the buffalo. Uteri were collected from the abattoir and categorized into nonpregnant late luteal phase, stage I (28-38th days of gestation) and stage II (48-56th days of gestation) of pregnancy (n = 6/group). After extraction of total RNA from the endometrial tissues, we carried out qRT-PCR for determining the relative mRNA expression of the P -regulated genes using nonpregnant late luteal phase as calibrator group. The expression of LGALS3BP (essential for maternal recognition of pregnancy) gene was found to be significantly upregulated (p < 0.05), while MUC1 (important for embryo attachment) gene was downregulated in stage I and II of pregnancy. We observed no significant change in the expression of LGALS1, LGALS9 and CTSL genes. The SLC5A11 and SLC2A1 genes (involved in the transport of glucose to endometrium) in early pregnancy were upregulated in the pregnancy stage I (p < 0.05) relative to nonpregnant late luteal phase. The CST3 gene was significantly upregulated in pregnancy stage II (p < 0.01). These results provide molecular insights into the specific pathways involved in foeto-maternal communication during early pregnancy in buffaloes.

Within- and between-Breed Selection Signatures in the Original and Improved Valachian Sheep

“…The FBP1 gene plays an important role in the glucosynthesis [ 31 ], while the FBP2 gene was shown to be related to milk productions traits [ 32 ], activating various metabolic processes in time of increased demands of high milk production [ 33 ]. The gene CTSL (cathepsin L) seems to be interesting from multiple angles, as it had been shown to influence carcass traits, production of milk [ 34 ] and reproductive traits [ 35 ]. The ISCA1 was found to be associated with multiple mitochondrial dysfunctions [ 36 ].…”

Investigation of conceptus stimulated gene expression in buffalo peripheral blood mononuclear cells as potential diagnostic markers of early pregnancy

“…The enhanced expression of the LGALS3BP gene in PBMCs indicated its role in the adhesion of the conceptus to the endometrium (Bauersachs et al ., 2006). The expression of LGALS3BP was upregulated in early (day 20) pregnant buffaloes compared to the same animals at day 0 d and to the non-pregnant group at day 20, indicating its potential role in establishing a pregnancy (Baba et al ., 2019). Our results agree with the high expression of LGALS3BP observed in pregnant heifers (Rocha et al ., 2020), who showed that PBMC expression of LGALS3BP and other INFT-stimulated genes ( IFI6, IFI44, RSAD2, OAS2, IFITM2 and CLEC3B ) was affected by pregnancy status at day 18 post insemination.…”

Feasibility and accuracy of using different methods to detect pregnancy by conceptus-stimulated genes in dairy cattle

“…Its increased expression in this cell type is interesting because the involvement of LGALS3BP in the adhesion process of the conceptus is limited to the luminal epithelium of the uterus (Bauersachs et al, 2006), and, in addition to the different function of cervical and endometrial cells, they are not exposed to the same stimuli during pregnancy (Kunii et al, 2018). However, Baba et al (2019) also observed that LGALS3BP modulates the maternal immune response during early pregnancy in buffaloes, suggesting that its higher expression at this period has an important role in maternal recognition of pregnancy and implantation.…”