Tumor necrosis factor-alpha and its receptor in the corpus luteum of pregnant cows.
The objective of this study was to investigate the presence of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha mRNA and TNF-alpha receptors in the bovine corpus luteum (CL) during the gestation period. TNF-alpha mRNA and TNF-alpha receptors were determined on bovine CL from pregnant cows at three stages: trimester I (fetal crown-rump length; 6-20 cm), trimester II (25-45 cm) and trimester III (50-80 cm). TNF-alpha mRNA was detected by an RT-PCR analysis in the CL of all stages of gestation. A Scatchard analysis revealed the presence of a high-affinity binding site (Kd; 5.1-6.9 nM) in the CL membranes collected at each stage of gestation. Furthermore, the concentrations of TNF-alpha receptors in the CL of trimesters I (24. 0 +/- 1.95 pmol/mg protein) and III (21.6 +/- 2.39 pmol/mg protein) of gestation were significantly higher than the concentration in trimester II (14.9 +/- 2.07 pmol/mg protein) (P < 0.05). These results indicate that TNF-alpha is locally produced and that TNF-alpha receptors are present in bovine CL during the gestation period, and suggest that TNF-alpha plays one or more roles as a paracrine factor in regulating bovine CL function during the entire gestation period.
Sakumoto
R
R
Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology, Faculty of Agriculture, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan.
Murakami
S
S
Kishi
H
H
Iga
K
K
Okano
A
A
Okuda
K
K
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D003338:Corpus Luteum / Q000378:metabolism*; D018568:Crown-Rump Length; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D011869:Radioligand Assay; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism*
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha