Expression and activity of matrix metalloprotease-2 in canine early placenta

CEBRAL E; DIESSLER M; VENTUREIRA MR; SOBARZO CMA; HERNÁNDEZ R; CASAS L; BARBEITO C

Mar del Plata

Congreso; VI Latin American Symposium on Maternal-Fetal Interaction and Placenta V Latin American Symposium on Reproductive Immunology; 2015

SLIMP - Latin American Society for Maternal Fetal Interaction and Placenta

Objective: Implantation and placentation require tissue remodeling through enzymes of the matrix metalloprotease group (MMPs). Because the expression of these enzymes has been studied in implantation and placentation of species with different types of placentas, but not in the canine endotheliochorial one, the objective of this work was to investigate the expression and activity of MMP-2 in the canine placenta at the earliest gestational stage.Methods: Samples from four early canine placentas (18-30 days) were obtained. The placentas from one uterine horn of each bitch were formalin-fixed, while those from the other horn were obtained on dry ice and kept at -70° for molecular determinations. Slices were routinely colored and processed by PAS-reaction to analyze general features. MMP-2 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western Blot (WB), and enzyme activity was evaluated by zymography (Zg). Maternal, labyrinthine and hematomal zones were analyzed in each case.Results and Conclusions: Positive reaction to the MMP-2 antibody was observed in the labyrinth and hematoma, being stronger in cytotrophoblast cells and syncytium. WB showed a MMP-2 band between 53-68 kDa in the labyrinth (L), hematoma (H), implantational endometrium (IE) and non-implantational endometrium (No-IE). Labyrinthine MMP-2 level of expression (mean OD/actin ± SD) was slightly higher than hematomal MMP-2 (p