Rat Lefty2/EBAF gene: Isolation and expression analysis in the oviduct during the early pregnancy stage

MARTIN E. ARGAÑARAZ; PABLO A. VALDECANTOS; CARLOS M. ABATE; DORA C. MICELI

Genes & Genetic Systems

Año: 2007 vol. 82 p. 145 - 156

1341-7568

It has been demonstrated,by RNA Arbitrarily Primed Polymerase Chain Reac- tion (RAP-PCR),that the endometrial bleeding associated factor (ebaf or lefty2 ) was expressed in rat oviduct.In this work we isolated and sequenced the full- length left2 cDNA from Rattus norvegicus oviducts and described its expression level in this organ during the estrous cycle and early pregnancy stage.The cod- ing deduced sequence (CDS)codifies a 40.91 kDa protein with a highly conserved TGF-â functional domain.RT-PCR semiquantitative analyses indicated that ovi- duct cells transcribe lefty2 among different stages of the estrous cycle with the maximum expression at diestrus phase.The highest expression of lefty2 was at the 4 th day after mating (five folds respect to day one),just when the embryos have completed their transit through the oviduct.The lefty2 expression declined rap- idly thereafter and the levels of their transcripts in the oviduct remained low until 7 th days after mating.