GRANULATED METRIAL GLAND CELLS IN A MOUSE MODEL OF BOVINE

M WOUDWYKA, C MONTEAVAROB, C CACCIATOB, P SOTOB AND C BARBEITO

Los Cocos, Cordoba

Simposio; III Latin-American Symposium on Maternal-Fetal Interaction and Placenta:Basic & Clinical Research; 2007

Latin-American group of Maternal-Fetal Interaction and Placenta:Basic & Clinical Research

The bovine tritrichomonosis is a venereal disease caused by to the protozoan Tritrichomonas foetus that produces embryonic death and abortion. The granulated metrial gland cells (GMG) present granules with cytotoxic molecules, positive to PAS and DBA lectin. From the 7th day of mouse gestation the GMG begin to increase its number in the decidua and in the 15th day they diminish to increase again near parturition. These cells regulate death in the uterine epithelium to allow the implantation; prevent the excessive growth of the trophoblast; support decidual health and favor the mother-foetal separation. Animals that lack these cells present abnormalities in the implantation sites. GMG’s lysis in the pregnant uteri infected with certain microorganisms is associated with loss of pregnancy. The aim of this work was to analyze changes in the GMG of the uterine horns in mice infected with T. foetus, to relate these cells and the embryonic early death in the tritrichomonosis. Samples of uteri from Balb/c mice with 5 to 10 days of pregnancy, infected by intravaginal via 10 days before the service. The samples were embebbed in paraffin and cuts were performed to apply the histochemistry tecnique of PAS. In the infected females GMG were small and diminished their numbers drastically. They presented scarce granules and in some cases GMG were in apoptosis. The decrease in quantity and size of the granules and the death of GMG might have been caused by the release of the GMG’s granules induced by cytotoxic molecules produced by the protozoan. The death and release of the GMG’s granules might contribute to a premature placental separation and in consequence, to abortion.