title: Expression profiling of vitamin D receptor in placenta, decidua and ovary of pregnant mice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The presence of vitamin D receptor (VDR) and the identification of localized vitamin D3 synthesis in placenta and decidua implicate the importance of vitamin D3 in reproductive function. There is, however, no data on the expression profile of VDR in the mouse placenta and endometrium throughout the pregnancy period.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the present work expression of VDR in reproductive tissues of pregnant mice at different gestational phases has been addressed. Expression of VDR was determined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that VDR mRNA and protein were expressed in decidua, placenta and ovary throughout the pregnancy. VDR gene expression in placenta was significantly elevated in late pregnancy when compared to that of mid pregnancy. Additionally, VDR expression level in decidua rose significantly as pregnancy progressed from early to mid stages. VDR expression in decidua of pregnant mice was higher in comparison to endometrium of non-pregnant mice. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that VDR protein is consistently expressed by luminal and glandular epithelial cells of decidua, giant cells, glycogen rich cells and labyrinth cells of placenta and by almost all follicular cell types of ovary. Surveying the expression of VDR at the protein level by Western blotting confirmed PCR results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It seems that expression of VDR in reproductive organs is finely tuned during pregnancy indicating its eminent role in reproductive biology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shahbazi
authors.affiliation: Monoclonal Antibody Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran; Immune and Gene Therapy Lab, CCK, Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jeddi-Tehrani
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics and Microbiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zareie
authors.affiliation: Immunology Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salek-Moghaddam
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Biotechnology Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Akhondi
authors.affiliation: Department of obstetrics & Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bahmanpoor
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Biotechnology Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sadeghi
authors.affiliation: Immunology Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Nanobiotechnology Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: zarnani25@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Zarnani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002117:Calcitriol / Q000096:biosynthesis; D003656:Decidua / Q000378:metabolism*; D004717:Endometrium / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D010053:Ovary / Q000378:metabolism*; D010920:Placenta / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol; D002117:Calcitriol