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ARS Home » Plains Area » Clay Center, Nebraska » U.S. Meat Animal Research Center » Livestock Bio-Systems » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #140275
Title: CHROMOSOMAL LOCATION, STRUCTURE, AND TEMPORAL EXPRESSION OF THE PLATELET-ACTIVATING FACTOR (PAFR) GENE IN PORCINE ENDOMETRIUM AND EMBRYOS RELATIVE TO ESTROGEN RECEPTOR ALPHA GENE EXPRESSION

Author
item YANG, WENSHENG - CLEMSON UNIVERSITY, SC
item DIEHL, JOHN - CLEMSON UNIVERSITY, SC
item YERLE, MARTINE - INRA, FRANCE
item Ford, Johny
item Christenson, Ronald
item ROUDEBUSH, WILLIAM - REPRODUCTIVE BIOL ASSOC
item PLUMMER, WILLIAM - CAL POLY, CA

Submitted to: Molecular Reproduction and Development
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/29/2002
Publication Date: 1/1/2003
Citation: YANG, W., DIEHL, J.R., YERLE, M., FORD, J.J., CHRISTENSON, R.K., ROUDEBUSH, W.E., PLUMMER, W.E. 2003. CHROMOSOMAL LOCATION, STRUCTURE, AND TEMPORAL EXPRESSION OF THE PLATELET-ACTIVATING FACTOR (PAFR) GENE IN PORCINE ENDOMETRIUM AND EMBRYOS RELATIVE TO ESTROGEN RECEPTOR ALPHA GENE EXPRESSION. Molecular Reproduction and Development. v. 64(1). p. 4-12.

Interpretive Summary: Maternal recognition of pregnancy in pigs is the time when a mated female perceives the presence of developing embryos within her uterus. Pregnancy recognition leads to interruption of uterine production of hormones that in nonpregnant females would terminate corpora lutea on the ovary and lead to growth of ovarian follicles followed by estrus and ovulation. Platelet-activating factor (PAF) was predicted to be associated with maternal recognition of pregnancy. The present study evaluated changes in receptors for PAF (PAFr) in porcine embryos and determined that concentrations of PAFr increased 2.5-fold in embryos from day 12 to day 14 of pregnancy. This period corresponds to the timing of maternal recognition of pregnancy and supports the hypothesis that PAF is a component of the uterine process that leads to maintenance of corpora lutea. These findings are useful in the design of subsequent studies that investigate methods to improve efficiency of reproduction by increasing pregnancy rate and litter size.

Technical Abstract: Although platelet-activating factor receptor (PAFr) gene was characterized in the human, little was known about it in domestic animals. Porcine PAFr gene was mapped using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The structure of this gene was investigated using a 5' rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) technique. Temporal expression of PAFr and estrogen receptor alpha genes (ER), and distribution of the PAFr transcripts in porcine endometrial and embryonic tissues on days 0, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 were analyzed using DNA competitors and reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The porcine PAFr gene was mapped to SSC6q26-27. Alternative splicing of primary transcripts of the PAFr gene produced two different transcripts. Transcript 1 was expressed in all tissues and cells, and transcript 2 was detected in all tissues but white blood cells. The temporal expression of the PAFr gene in endometrial (P > 0.05) and embryonic (P < 0.05) tissues of pregnant sows increased from day 10 to 16. The temporal expression of ER genes in endometrial tissues of pregnant sows decreased from day 10 to 18 (P < 0.05). In addition, ER expression was detectable in 20-60% of embryonic tissue samples, which generally decreased. In combination with previously obtained data on PAF and estradiol-17beta (E2) concentrations in pregnant uterine luminal fluids (pULF), endometrial and embryonic tissues, the present results indicated that the increasing PAFr transcripts were positively associated with increasing levels of PAF. Both ER transcripts and E2 found in pULF decreased correspondingly from day 13 to 16. These results indicate that via PAFr, PAF could play a dominant role in peri-implantation development in pigs as compared to E2.