Transcriptomic Analysis of the Porcine Endometrium during Embryo Implantation

Genes

Haichao Lin¹  Huaizhong Wang¹  Yanping Wang¹  Chang Liu¹  Cheng Wang¹  Jianfeng Guo¹ 

[1] Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China; E-Mails:

关键词: embryo implantation;    endometrium;    pigs;    pregnancy;    sows;    transcriptome;   

DOI  :  10.3390/genes6041330

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

In pigs, successful embryo implantation is an important guarantee for producing litter size, and early embryonic loss occurring on day 12–30 of gestation critically affects the potential litter size. The implantation process is regulated by the expression of numerous genes, so comprehensive analysis of the endometrium is necessary. In this study, RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) technology is used to analyze endometrial tissues during early pregnancy. We investigated the changes of gene expression between three stages (day 12, 18, and 25) by multiple comparisons. There were 1557, 8951, and 2345 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) revealed between the different periods of implantation. We selected several genes for validation by the use of quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Bioinformatic analysis of differentially expressed genes in the endometrium revealed a number of biological processes and pathways potentially involved in embryo implantation in the pig, most noticeably cell proliferation, regulation of immune response, interaction of cytokine-cytokine receptors, and cell adhesion. These results showed that specific gene expression patterns reflect the different functions of the endometrium in three stages (maternal recognition, conceptus attachment, and embryo implantation). This study identified comprehensive transcriptomic profile in the porcine endometrium and thus could be a foundation for targeted studies of genes and pathways potentially involved in abnormal endometrial receptivity and embryo loss in early pregnancy.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.