Abstract
The effects of a dietary folic acid (B9) supplement on the uterine environment of nulliparous Yorkshire- Landrace (YL) and multiparous Landrace (LD) and multiparous Meishan-Landrace (ML) sows were investigated. Sows were randomly assigned to two treatments: 0 mg kg-1 and 15 mg kg-1 of B9. The supplements were given daily from the estrus preceding insemination up to slaughter on Day 15 of gestation. At slaughter, one uterine horn was used to collect the “uterine flush” and conceptuses in order to determine the uterine content of prostaglandin E2(PGE2) and F2α(PGF2α), estradiol-17β (E2) and transforming growth factor-β2 (TGF-β2), and conceptus expression of cytochrome P450aromatase (P450) and interferon γ mRNA (IFNγ). The other horn was used to determine endometrial expression of interleukin-2 (IL-2), cyclooxygenase-1 (COX1) and -2 (COX2) mRNA and to evaluate endometrial in vitro secretion of PGE2. The B9 supplement tended to decrease the uterine content of PGE2 (P < 0.08), and decrease endometrial expression of COX1 mRNA (P < 0.05). The in vitro secretion of PGE2 was reduced by B9 supplement only in YL sows (P < 0.05). The type of sow did not have any effect on the uterine content of PGE2 (P > 0.10). However, endometrial expression of COX2 mRNA was lower for YL than LD sows (P < 0.05), but there was no difference between ML and LD sows. Endometrial expression of COX1 mRNA was higher for ML than LD sows (P < 0.05). The B9 supplement tended to decrease uterine content of E2 and TGF-β2 in YL and LD sows (P < 0.07), but conceptus expression of P450 mRNA increased only for YL sows (P < 0.05). The uterine content of E2 was lower for YL than LD sows (P < 0.05). The B9 supplement decreased endometrial expression of IL-2 mRNA in LD and YL sows ( P < 0.05), but increased it in ML sows (P < 0.05). Conceptus expression of IFNγ mRNA was not affected either by B9 supplementation or the type of sow. In conclusion, the effect of B9 supplementation on the porcine uterine environment at Day 15 of gestation was influenced by sow type (genotype and/or parity). Key words: Sow, gestation, folic acid, prostaglandin, interleukin-2
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