title: Uterine focal adhesion dynamics during pregnancy in a marsupial (Sminthopsis crassicaudata; Dasyuridae).
abstract: Alterations to the basal attachment points between the epithelium of the uterus and the underlying tissue in early pregnancy affect how easily the epithelium can be invaded by the implanting embryo. Attachment points- focal adhesions- disassemble to facilitate highly invasive implantation in rats, but species with less invasive implantation, including marsupials, may require different basal alterations for successful pregnancy. Here we used immunofluorescence microscopy and Western blotting to conduct the first study of basal plasma membrane dynamics in the uterus during marsupial pregnancy. We describe localisation patterns of two key anchoring molecules, talin and paxillin, throughout pregnancy in the fat-tailed dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata; Dasyuridae). Basal staining of both molecules occurs in early pregnancy, as it does in the rat. However, unlike rats, there is strong basal localisation of talin and paxillin just before implantation in S. crassicaudata, indicating that focal adhesions do not disassemble during pregnancy in this species, and that molecular reinforcement of the epithelium may be a maternal strategy to regulate invasion. Additionally, talin and paxillin do not co-localise at all stages of pregnancy as they do in the rat. Different localisation patterns among mammalian species demonstrate that not all early pregnancy changes are ubiquitous in mammalian pregnancy, as changes to the basal plasma membrane of the epithelium, in particular, may instead be dependent on mode of implantation. Anat Rec, 300:1150-1159, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Melanie K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Laird
authors.affiliation: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Turancova
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences and Bosch Institute, University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Bronwyn M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: McAllan
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Histology, School of Medical Sciences and Bosch Institute, University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Christopher R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D010064:Embryo Implantation; D005260:Female; D022001:Focal Adhesions / Q000502:physiology*; D008394:Marsupialia / Q000502:physiology*; D051419:Paxillin / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D016608:Talin / Q000378:metabolism; D014599:Uterus / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D051419:Paxillin; D016608:Talin
keywords: implantation; paxillin; plasma membrane transformation; talin