title: Spatial differences in gene expression in the bovine oviduct.
abstract: The aim of this study was to compare the transcriptome of the oviductal isthmus of pregnant heifers with that of cyclic heifers as well as to investigate spatial differences between the transcriptome of the isthmus and ampulla of the oviduct in pregnant heifers. After synchronizing crossbred beef heifers, those in standing oestrus (=Day 0) were randomly assigned to cyclic (non-bred, n=6) or pregnant (artificially inseminated, n=11) groups. They were slaughtered on Day 3 and both oviducts from each animal were isolated and cut in half to separate ampulla and isthmus. Each portion was flushed to confirm the presence of an oocyte/embryo and was then opened longitudinally and scraped to obtain epithelial cells which were snap-frozen. Oocytes and embryos were located in the isthmus of the oviduct ipsilateral to the corpus luteum Microarray analysis of oviductal cells revealed that proximity to the corpus luteum did not affect the transcriptome of the isthmus, irrespective of pregnancy status. However, 2287 genes were differentially expressed (P<0.01) between the ampulla and isthmus of the oviduct ipsilateral to the corpus luteum in pregnant animals. Gene ontology revealed that the main biological processes overrepresented in the isthmus were synthesis of nitrogen, lipids, nucleotides, steroids and cholesterol as well as vesicle-mediated transport, cell cycle, apoptosis, endocytosis and exocytosis, whereas cell motion, motility and migration, DNA repair, calcium ion homeostasis, carbohydrate biosynthesis, and regulation of cilium movement and beat frequency were overrepresented in the ampulla. In conclusion, large differences in gene expression were observed between the isthmus and ampulla of pregnant animals at Day 3 after oestrus.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Reproduccion AnimalInstituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Maillo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Reproduccion AnimalInstituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Celia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de Frutos
authors.affiliation: School of Biomolecular and Biomedical SciencesUniversity College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
authors.forename: Peadar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: O'Gaora
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproduction and Early DevelopmentLeeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Leeds, Clarendon Way, Leeds, UK.
authors.forename: Niamh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Forde
authors.affiliation: Division of Animal Sciences and Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's HealthUniversity of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.
authors.forename: Gregory W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.affiliation: Division of Animal Sciences and Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's HealthUniversity of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Reproduccion AnimalInstituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gutierrez-Adan
authors.affiliation: School of Agriculture and Food ScienceUniversity College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lonergan
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Reproduccion AnimalInstituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Madrid, Spain drizos@inia.es.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rizos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005187:Fallopian Tubes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D009865:Oocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy