Abstract
This study evaluated the effects of supplying altrenogest from day 6-12 of pregnancy on the endometrial glandular epithelium, corpora lutea (CL) morphology, and endometrial and CL gene expression. A total of 12 crossbred females (Landrace × Large White) were used. The females were assigned to 4 treatments according to a random design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, with two categories (sow or gilt) and two treatments (non-treated and treated with altrenogest). On day 6 of pregnancy, animals were allocated to one of the following groups: non-treated (NT, n = 6; 3 sows and 3 gilts), and (T, n = 6; 3 sows and 3 gilts) treated daily with 20 mg of altrenogest, from day 6-12 of pregnancy. All animals were euthanized on day 13 of pregnancy. All CLs were individually weighed, and their volume were determined. The endometrial glandular density (GD), mean glandular area (MGA), and vascular density (VD) were determined by histomorphometric and immunohistochemical analyses. Endometrium samples were collected and analyzed by qRT-PCR to evaluate the abundance of transcripts for VEGF and IGF-I. Females in the T group had higher MGA (P < 0.05) compared to the NT group. There was no effect of treatment on GD or VD for both experimental groups. Sows in the T group had augmented expression of IGF-I (P < 0.05). Progestagen had no detrimental effect on CL morphology. In conclusion, altrenogest improves the uterine environment during the peri-implantation period in pigs without compromising corpora lutea development.
Highlights
In pigs, the peri-implantation period of accelerated trophoblastic elongation and attachment to the uterine surface relies on an intricate interplay between conceptuses and the uterine epithelium
This experiment tested the hypothesis that altrenogest provided from day 6-12 of pregnancy improves endometrial glandular development and increases endometrial gene expression of IGF-I and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) around the period of implantation in pigs
The corpora lutea (CL) weight was not affected (P > 0.05) by treatment; there was an effect of the category (P < 0.05) for this variable, with gilts having heavier CL than sows (Table 2)
Summary
The peri-implantation period of accelerated trophoblastic elongation and attachment to the uterine surface relies on an intricate interplay between conceptuses (embryo/fetus and its associated membranes) and the uterine epithelium During this phase, various inducible transcription factors are activated in response to hormone stimuli, resulting in the expression of a plethora of genes involved in conceptus development (Kridli et al, 2016). VEGF was found to be down-regulated in the placentae of intrauterine growth-restricted pigs (Chen et al, 2015) These arguments sustain the notion that an adequate concentration of circulating P4 during the peri-implantation period would improve the uterine environment. There is limited information on the effects of progestagen provided during early pregnancy on the uterine environment This experiment tested the hypothesis that altrenogest provided from day 6-12 of pregnancy improves endometrial glandular development and increases endometrial gene expression of IGF-I and VEGF around the period of implantation in pigs
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
