Regional differences in expression of progesterone receptor in oviduct and uterus of rabbit during early pregnancy.
We characterized the expression pattern of progesterone receptor (PR) in two regions of the oviduct (ampullae and isthmus), and the uterus (epithelium and stroma) of the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) during early pregnancy (1-4 days) by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. We observed a significant increase in the expression of PR at mRNA level in the uterus on days 1 and 2 of pregnancy, followed by a decrease on days 3 and 4. These changes were also observed at protein level in the uterine epithelium. Interestingly, PR immunoreactivity decreased in stromal cells in all days of pregnancy as compared with non-pregnant rabbits (NG). In the isthmus PR mRNA expression significantly increased on day 2 of pregnancy and diminished on days 3 and 4, whereas no significant changes were observed in the ampullae. In epithelial and stromal cells of the isthmus, PR immunostaining was reduced through pregnancy as compared with NG group. In contrast, a reduction in PR immunostaining was observed on days 1-3 with an increase on day 4 in epithelial and stromal cells of the ampullae. The overall results suggest that PR exhibit a differential expression pattern in the oviduct and the uterus during early pregnancy of the rabbit, and that these differences are related to different functions of PR in the reproductive tract during early pregnancy.
Anzaldúa
Santiago René
SR
Laboratorio de Biología Tisular de la Reproducción, Departamento de Morfología, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D. F., México.
Camacho-Arroyo
Ignacio
I
Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán 04510, México, D. F., México.
Reyna-Neyra
Andrea
A
Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán 04510, México, D. F., México.
Pérez-Martínez
Mario
M
Laboratorio de Biología Tisular de la Reproducción, Departamento de Morfología, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D. F., México.
Cerbón
Marco
M
Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán 04510, México, D. F., México. Electronic address: mcerbon85@yahoo.com.
D000818:Animals; D005187:Fallopian Tubes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D011247:Pregnancy; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011817:Rabbits; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014599:Uterus / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone