Abstract
The endometrium of sheep consists of plenty of raised aglandular areas called caruncular (C), and intensely glandular intercaruncular areas (IC). In order to better understand the endometrium involved mechanisms of implantation, we used LC-MS/MS technique to profile the proteome of ovine endometrial C areas and IC areas separately during the peri-implantation period, and then compared the proteomic profiles between these two areas. We successfully detected 1740 and 1813 proteins in C areas and IC areas respectively. By comparing the proteome of these two areas, we found 170 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) (P < 0.05), functional bioinformatics analysis showed these DEPs were mainly involved in growth and remodeling of endometrial tissue, cell adhesion and protein transport, and so on. Our study, for the first time, provided a proteomic reference for elucidating the differences between C and IC areas, as an integrated function unit respectively, during the peri-implantation period. The results could help us to better understand the implantation in the ewes. In addition, we established a relatively detailed protein database of ovine endometrium, which provide a unique reference for further studies.
Highlights
Implantation, the sign and initial phase of pregnancy, is a process lading to attachment of developing conceptus to the maternal endometrium, and resulting in the establishment of placental structure
Based on all above results, we provided proteomics evidence that both C areas and IC areas were characterized by a considerable remodeling process, which was a preparation for successful implantation
We found many differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) up-regulated in the IC areas were significantly enriched in Gene Ontology (GO) categories and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways related to cell adhesion
Summary
Implantation, the sign and initial phase of pregnancy, is a process lading to attachment of developing conceptus to the maternal endometrium, and resulting in the establishment of placental structure. The C areas have LE and compact stroma and are the sites of superficial implantation and placentation [6], while the IC area, which is suffused with glandular epithelial cells [7,8], is mainly responsible for the synthesis and secretion histotroph, including enzymes, cytokines, growth factors, ions, hormones, glucose, transport proteins, and adhesion molecules to support early conceptus survival, development, implantation and placentation [2,9] These two areas play different roles in implantation process, and both are essential for the establishment of pregnancy. Considering the significant structural and functional differences between C and IC areas, a comprehensive comparison between those two distinct endometrial areas could facilitate the understanding of endometrium involved implantations in ruminants
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