title: Detection of early pregnancy-specific proteins in Holstein milk.
abstract: Bovine pregnancy is commonly diagnosed by rectal palpation or ultrasonography and changes in progesterone concentration. To determine a simpler and less expensive diagnostic method, we sought to identify early pregnancy-specific proteins in bovine milk by comparing samples collected from pregnant and non-pregnant Holstein cattle. Of the 600-700 protein spots visible on 2-DE gel images, 39 were differentially expressed in milk from pregnant and non-pregnant cattle. Antibodies generated against synthetic peptides of milk whey proteins expressed specifically during pregnancy were used to confirm protein expression patterns. Western blot analysis showed that the levels of expression of lactoferrin (lactotransferrin) and alpha1G T-type calcium channel subunit (alpha-1G) were higher in samples from pregnant than non-pregnant cattle. These findings suggest that assays for pregnancy-specific milk proteins may be used to diagnose pregnancy in cattle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science & Biotechnology, Research Center for Transgenic and Cloned Pigs, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Rong Xun
authors.initials: RX
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Hong Rye
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Yun Fei
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Diao
authors.forename: Min Gu
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Dong il
authors.initials: Di
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D008894:Milk Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000378:metabolism*; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D008894:Milk Proteins; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins