Expression of Lysophosphatidic Acid Receptor 3 in the Uterine Endometrium of Pigs with Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Cloned Conceptuses

Abstract

Heewon Seo and Hakhyun Ka*Division of Biological Science and Technology and IPAID, Yonsei University, Wonju 220-710, KoreaABSTRACTLysophosphatidic acid(LPA) is a small lipid molecule that plays an important role through LPA receptors(LPARs) in reproductive processes. Our previous study has shown maximal expression of LPAR3 in the uterine endometrium on day(D) 12 of pregnancy in pigs, the period when conceptus secretes various molecules such as estrogen and interleukin-1β(IL1B) and initiates implantation. We determined that endometrial expression of LPAR3 was increased by conceptus estrogen in the previous study, but the effect of IL1B on LPAR3 expression has not been determined. Thus, in this study we examined whether LPAR3 expression was also affected by IL1B. Endometrial explant cultures from D12 of the estrous cycle showed that levels of endometrial LPAR3 expression did not changed in response to IL1B. We also investigated LPAR3 expression in the uterine endometrium on D12 and D30 of pregnancy from gilts with conceptuses derived from somatic cell nuclear transfer(SCNT). The expression of LPAR3 mRNA was lower in endometria from gilts with conceptuses resulting from SCNT compared with those from gilts with embryos resulting from natural mating on D12 of pregnancy, but it was not different between them on D30 of pregnancy. Our results indicate that estrogen of conceptus origin is responsible for induction of LPAR3 expression during the peri-implantation period and appropriate LPA signaling is impaired in the uterine endometrium with SCNT-derived conceptuses during the implantation period in pigs.(Key words : Pig, Uterus, Interleukin-1β, LPAR3, SCNT)