Abstract
Simple SummaryComplement regulation is related to fetal growth during early pregnancy in humans. The results show that C1q increased during early pregnancy, and C1r, C1s, C2, C3 and C5b enhanced at day 25 of gestation, and C4a and C9 increased on days 13 and 16 of pregnancy in the ovine maternal spleen. In summary, a complement pathway participates in maternal immune regulation during early gestation.During early gestation in humans, complement regulation is essential for normal fetal growth. It is supposed that a complement pathway participates in maternal splenic immune regulation at the early stage of gestation in ewes. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of early pregnancy on the expression of complement components in the maternal spleen of ewes. In this study, ovine spleens were sampled on day 16 of nonpregnancy, and days 13, 16 and 25 of gestation. RT-qPCR, Western blot and immunohistochemical analysis were used to detect the changes in expression of complement components in the ovine maternal spleens. Our results reveal that C1q was upregulated during early gestation, C1r, C1s, C2, C3 and C5b increased at day 25 of gestation and C4a and C9 peaked at days 13 and 16 of gestation. In addition, C3 protein was located in the capsule, trabeculae and splenic cords. In conclusion, our results show for the first time that there was modification in the expression of complement components in the ovine spleen at the early stage of gestation, and complement pathways may participate in modulating splenic immune responses at the early stage of gestation.
Highlights
A complement pathway is the replenishment of immunological processes, and is implicated in immune surveillance, cell homeostasis and tissue development [1]
Complement regulation is necessary for a successful pregnancy, and some complement components are favorable in the normal fetal growth at the stage of pre-implantation to placentation [4]
The aim of the present research was to analyze the expression of complement components in the maternal spleen at the early stage of gestation in ewes, which may be useful for understanding the establishment of the immune tolerance mechanism of the maternal spleen
Summary
A complement pathway is the replenishment of immunological processes, and is implicated in immune surveillance, cell homeostasis and tissue development [1]. The complement system participates in the complex tolerance and clearance processes, and complement system dysregulation results in insufficient clearance of the fragmentation of the placental tissue and preeclampsia in humans [2]. Complement regulation is necessary for a successful pregnancy, and some complement components are favorable in the normal fetal growth at the stage of pre-implantation to placentation [4]. During early pregnancy, complement regulation in the spleen is unclear in ewes. The spleen has a wide range of immunologic functions and plays key roles in the initiation of adaptive immunity [6].
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