Abstract
As the main signal for the maternal recognition in ruminants, interferon-tau (IFNT) stimulates expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) in uterus and many extrauterine tissues. However, it is unclear that early pregnancy induces expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1), myxovirusresistance 1 (Mx1), interferon-gamma-inducible protein 10 (IP-10) and ubiquitin activating enzyme E1-like protein (UBE1L) in maternal thymus. In this study, ovine thymuses were sampled on day 16 of the estrous cycle and on days 13, 16 and 25 of gestation, and the expression of STAT1, Mx1, IP-10 and UBE1L was detected by real-time quantitative PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry. The results revealed that the expression of STAT1 and IP-10 reached peaks on day 16 of pregnancy, and expression of Mx1 was enhanced on day 25 of pregnancy, and STAT1 protein was located in the epithelial reticular cells, capillaries and thymic corpuscles. However, expression of UBE1L was declined during early pregnancy. In conclusion, early pregnancy influences expression of STAT1, Mx1, IP-10 and UBE1L in maternal thymus, which may participate in regulation of maternal immune tolerance during early pregnancy in sheep.
Highlights
Interferon-tau (IFNT) is known as trophoblastic protein-1, secreted by ruminant early conceptus (Godkin et al, 1984)
Expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1), myxovirusresistance 1 (Mx1), inducible protein 10 (IP-10) and ubiquitin activating enzyme E1-like protein (UBE1L) genes in the thymuses It is revealed in Figure 1 that expression of STAT1 and IP-10 genes reached peaks on day 16 of pregnancy, but expression of UBE1L gene was lower in the thymus from the pregnant ewes comparing with that from the nonpregnant ewes (P < 0.05)
Immunohistochemistry analysis revealed that STAT1 protein was located in the epithelial reticular cells, capillaries and thymic corpuscles (Figure 3), and the staining intensity for STAT1 was stronger in the thymuses on days 13 and 16 of pregnancy comparing to that on day 16 of the estrous cycle, and day 25 of pregnancy
Summary
Interferon-tau (IFNT) is known as trophoblastic protein-1, secreted by ruminant early conceptus (Godkin et al, 1984). IFNT stimulates endometria to express interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), which are essential for conceptus survival during early pregnancy (Spencer, 2014). Expression of ISG15 and OAS-1 are upregulated in corpus luteum (CL) and blood cells (Oliveira et al, 2008), and receptor transporter protein 4 improves in ovary and peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) (Gifford et al., Copyright © The Author(s).
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