title: Bovine granulocyte chemotactic protein-2 is secreted by the endometrium in response to interferon-tau (IFN-tau).
abstract: Interferon-tau (IFN-tau) is secreted by the bovine conceptus and may regulate synthesis of uterine endometrial cytokines to provide an environment that is conductive to embryo development and implantation. Interferon-tau stimulates secretion of an 8-kDa uterine protein (P8) in the cow. P8 was purified, digested to yield internal peptides, and partially sequenced to determine identity. Two internal peptides had 100% (13-mer) and 92% (12-mer) amino acid sequence identity with bovine granulocyte chemotactic protein-2 (bGCP-2). Bovine GCP-2 is an alpha-chemokine that acts primarily as a potent chemoattractant for granulocyte cells of the immune system. A peptide was synthesized based on a region of bGCP-2 that overlapped with a P8 peptide amino acid sequence, coupled to keyhole limpet hemocyanin, and used to generate high titer polyclonal antiserum in sheep. Western blots revealed that bGCP-2 was not released by endometrium from day 14 nonpregnant cows, but was released in response to 25 nM IFN-tau (p<0.05). Uterine GCP-2 exhibited high affinity to heparin agarose, a characteristic shared by all alpha chemokines. This is the first report describing presence of GCP-2 in the uterine endometrium and regulation by IFN-tau. The regulation of bGCP-2 by IFN-tau may have important implications for cytokine networking in the uterus during pregnancy. Also, the regulation of inflammation and angiogenesis by bGCP-2 working together with other cytokines may be integral to establishing early pregnancy and implantation in the cow.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, School of Pharmacy, University of Wyoming, Laramie 82071, USA.
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Austin
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.forename: V D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Dooley
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Hansen
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002417:Cattle; D054427:Chemokine CXCL6; D018925:Chemokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D019743:Chemokines, CXC; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004717:Endometrium / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D012756:Sheep / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D054427:Chemokine CXCL6; D018925:Chemokines; D019743:Chemokines, CXC; D007370:Interferon Type I; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins; C020947:interferon tau