Abstract
Prenatal losses are a complex problem. Pregnancy requires orchestrated communication between the
embryo and the uterus that includes secretions from the embryo to signal pregnancy recognition
and secretion and remodelling from the uterine epithelium. Most of these losses are characterized by
asynchronization between embryo and uterus. To better understand possible causes, an analysis was
conducted of gene expression of a set of transcripts related to maternal recognition and establishment of rabbit pregnancy (uteroglobin, SCGB1A1; integrin 1, ITGA1; interferon-, IFNG; vascular endothelial
growth factor, VEGF) in oviduct and uterine tissue at 16, 72 or 144 h post-ovulation and insemination.
In the oviduct tissue, a significant decrease in the level of SCGB1A1 mRNA expression was observed
from 144 h post-ovulation. In the case of ITGA1, the transcript abundance was initially lower, but
mRNA expression increased significantly at 72 and 144 h post-ovulation. For IFNG, a huge decrease
was observed from 16 to 72 h post-ovulation. Finally, no significant differences were observed in the
VEGF transcript. For the endometrium, the results showed a significant decline in the level of SCGB1A1 mRNA expression from 16 to 144 h post-ovulation induction. The highest levels of ITGA1 transcript were detected at 144 h, followed by the 16 h group and lower at 72 h post-ovulation. For IFNG there were no significant differences among post-ovulation induction times. Finally, it was possible to observe that VEGF mRNA abundance was present at low levels at 16 h post-ovulation and remained low at 72 h,but increased at 144 h. The functional significance of these observations may provide new insights into the maternal role in prenatal losses.
