Profiles of uterine protein in flushings and progesterone in plasma of normal and repeat-breeding dairy cattle.
Uterine secretions were collected nonsurgically from 15 normal and 9 repeat-breeder Holstein and Jersey cows on d 0 and 5, 10, or 15 of an estrous cycle. Uterine flushings presented 19 protein bands in one-dimensional PAGE, but only 16 bands were found in gels of plasma samples of normal and repeat-breeder cows. Red blood cell contamination of uterine flushings ranged from 50,400 to 4,940,000 cells/ml of flush recovered for visibly clear samples to over 17 x 10(6) cells/ml in obviously red samples. A prealbumin (electrophoretic mobility relative to albumin; Ra 1.28) and a pretransferrin (Ra .72) were found in uterine flushings. A possible uterine protein (Ra .35) was probably a hemoglobin-like contaminant. Data suggest that differences in peripheral plasma progesterone concentrations during the estrous cycle in repeat-breeder cattle may provide the basis for altered synthesis or secretion of uterine proteins needed for development by early embryos.
Guise
M B
MB
Department of Dairy Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg 24061.
Gwazdauskas
F C
FC
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004971:Estrus / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000662:veterinary; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood*; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation / Q000662:veterinary; D014599:Uterus / Q000378:metabolism*
D011506:Proteins; D011374:Progesterone