Project description:Maternal exposure to estrogens can induce long-term adverse effects in the offspring. This may be mediated through alterations in the endometrium affecting embryo-maternal communication as early as the preimplantational phase. Thus, we analyzed the effects of gestational estradiol-17β (E2) exposure on the endometrium. Two distinct low doses and a high dose (0.05, 10 and 1000 µg E2/kg body weight daily, respectively) were orally applied to sows from insemination until sampling at day 10 of pregnancy and compared to carrier-treated controls. RNA-sequencing revealed a dose-dependent increase of 14, 17 and 27 differentially expressed genes (DEG), respectively. Overall, the maternal E2 treatment perturbed gene expression of the endometrium, potentially altering the uterine histotroph.
Project description:Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs), known to modulate gene expression through post-transcriptional mechanisms, were implied in regulation of early pregnancy events including maternal recognition of pregnancy and implantation. To characterize complex transcriptomic changes in expression of miRNAs in pregnant and cyclic endometria collected on days 12, 16 and 20 was analyzed using Illumina deep sequencing. This research showed repertoire of pregnancy-related miRNAs in porcine endometrium during initial stages of conceptus implantation and during the estrous cycle and sheds light on miRNA-mediated gene expression regulation mechanism at the maternal-conceptus interface. miRNAs and isomiRs expression profiles were analyzed in samples collected from porcine endometrium on Days 12, 16 and 20 of pregnancy and estrous cycle. Each group was represented by 4 to 6 samples. Generated libraries were run in multiplex using specific barcodes to differentiate samples. Illumina sequencing was performed in duplicate (two runs) and after demultiplexing, the same samples from two independent runs were concatenated.
Project description:Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs), known to modulate gene expression through post-transcriptional mechanisms, were implied in regulation of early pregnancy events including maternal recognition of pregnancy and implantation. To characterize complex transcriptomic changes in expression of miRNAs in pregnant and cyclic endometria collected on days 12, 16 and 20 was analyzed using Illumina deep sequencing. This research showed repertoire of pregnancy-related miRNAs in porcine endometrium during initial stages of conceptus implantation and during the estrous cycle and sheds light on miRNA-mediated gene expression regulation mechanism at the maternal-conceptus interface.
Project description:In pigs, conceptus attachment to the uterine surface epithelium starts around day 14 of pregnancy preceded by a pronounced vascularization at the implantation zones, initiating the epitheliochorial placentation. To characterize the complex transcriptome changes in the endometrium in the course of initial conceptus attachment deep sequencing of endometrial RNA samples of pregnant animals (n=4) and corresponding cyclic controls (n=4) was performed using Illumina RNA-Seq. The obtained sequence reads were mapped to the porcine genome and relative expression values were calculated for the analysis of differential gene expression. Statistical analysis revealed 1,933 differentially expressed genes (FDR 1%), 1,229 with higher and 704 with lower mRNA concentration in the samples from pregnant animals. Expression of selected genes was validated by the use of quantitative real-time RT-PCR. The RNA-Seq data were compared to results of a microarray study of bovine endometrium on day 18 of pregnancy and additional related data sets. Bioinformatics analysis revealed for the genes with higher mRNA concentration in pregnant samples strong overrepresentation particularly for immune-related functional terms but also for apoptosis and cell adhesion. Overrepresented terms for the genes with lower mRNA concentration in pregnant samples were related to extracellular region, ion transport, cell adhesion and lipid and steroid metabolic process. In conclusion, RNA-Seq analysis revealed comprehensive transcriptome differences in porcine endometrium between day 14 of pregnancy and corresponding cyclic endometrium and highlighted new processes and pathways probably involved in regulation of non-invasive implantation in the pig. In total, 8 samples were analyzed, 4 biological replicates for pregnant animals (samples from 4 different animals) and 4 biological replicates for cyclic controls (samples from 4 different animals)
Project description:In pigs, conceptus attachment to the uterine surface epithelium starts around day 14 of pregnancy preceded by a pronounced vascularization at the implantation zones, initiating the epitheliochorial placentation. To characterize the complex transcriptome changes in the endometrium in the course of initial conceptus attachment deep sequencing of endometrial RNA samples of pregnant animals (n=4) and corresponding cyclic controls (n=4) was performed using Illumina RNA-Seq. The obtained sequence reads were mapped to the porcine genome and relative expression values were calculated for the analysis of differential gene expression. Statistical analysis revealed 1,933 differentially expressed genes (FDR 1%), 1,229 with higher and 704 with lower mRNA concentration in the samples from pregnant animals. Expression of selected genes was validated by the use of quantitative real-time RT-PCR. The RNA-Seq data were compared to results of a microarray study of bovine endometrium on day 18 of pregnancy and additional related data sets. Bioinformatics analysis revealed for the genes with higher mRNA concentration in pregnant samples strong overrepresentation particularly for immune-related functional terms but also for apoptosis and cell adhesion. Overrepresented terms for the genes with lower mRNA concentration in pregnant samples were related to extracellular region, ion transport, cell adhesion and lipid and steroid metabolic process. In conclusion, RNA-Seq analysis revealed comprehensive transcriptome differences in porcine endometrium between day 14 of pregnancy and corresponding cyclic endometrium and highlighted new processes and pathways probably involved in regulation of non-invasive implantation in the pig.