title: Influence of progesterone on oocyte quality and embryo development in cows.
abstract: In cattle, the majority of embryo loss occurs very early during pregnancy (approximately Day 16), around or prior to maternal recognition of pregnancy. The actions of P4 in controlling LH pulsatility and ovarian follicular development may impinge negatively on oocyte quality. A considerable proportion of embryo loss may be attributable to inadequate circulating progesterone (P4) concentrations and the subsequent downstream consequences on endometrial gene expression and histotroph secretion into the uterine lumen. Conceptus growth and development require the action of P4 on the uterus to regulate endometrial function, including conceptus-maternal interactions, pregnancy recognition, and uterine receptivity for implantation. This review summarizes recent data highlighting the role of progesterone in determining oocyte quality and embryo development in cattle.
authors.affiliation: School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, College of Life Sciences, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. pat.lonergan@ucd.ie
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lonergan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000196:embryology* / Q000502:physiology; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000494:pharmacology; D020964:Embryo Loss / Q000662:veterinary; D004624:Embryo Transfer / Q000662:veterinary; D047108:Embryonic Development; D004717:Endometrium / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000502:physiology*; D009865:Oocytes / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*; D012102:Reproductive Control Agents / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D012102:Reproductive Control Agents; D011374:Progesterone