INVESTIGADORES
ARGAÑARAZ Martin Eduardo
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Regulation of Lefty2 in the oviduct of cyclic, pregnant and pseudopregnant rats
Autor/es:
MARTIN E. ARGAÑARAZ; PABLO A. VALDECANTOS; DORA C. MICELI
Lugar:
Budapest, Hungary
Reunión:
Congreso; 16 th International Congress on Animal Reproduction; 2008
Institución organizadora:
Spanish Society of Animal Reproduction, European Society for Domestic Animal Reprod. & European Vet. Soc. of Small Animal Reprod.
Resumen:
Regulation of Lefty2 in the oviduct of cyclic, pregnant,
and pseudopregnant rats.
Argañaraz, ME1, Valdecantos, PA2, Miceli, DC1*
1Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas, CONICET, Argentina;
2Facultad de Bioquímica,Cátedra de Biología Celular, Universidad Nacional
de Tucumán, Argentina
Transforming growth factor beta superfamily members are closely
associated with tissue remodeling events and reproductive processes,
being involved in the embryo development and in the maternalembryo
cross-talk. Moreover, transforming growth factor beta and
their receptors were found in the preimplantation embryo and the
reproductive tract (oviduct and uterus). Lefty2 an unusual member of
this family has been implicated in the regulation of other transforming
growth factor beta members such as nodal, activin, bone morphogenic
proteins and transforming growth factor beta 1 via cryto co-receptors
and by an antagonic mechanism. To date, the presence and regulation
of Lefty2 in the rat oviduct have not been described yet. The aim of
the present study was to investigate the expression of Lefty2 and its
co-receptor (crypto) in the oviduct. RNA; oviductal proteins and
tissues were collected from cyclic non-pregnant, pregnant, and
hormonally-induced pseudopregnant rats. Lefty is a pre-proprotein of
42 kDa that is proteolytic activated to a mature form of 26 kDa.
Lefty2 proteins were detected by western blots in the oviduct of
cyclic, pregnant, and pseudopregnant rats but were not influenced by
the estrous cycle. During early pregnancy, Lefty2 mature form was
significantly higher at day 4 (when the embryo is still in the oviduct)
and then it was gradually decreased while the pre-proprotein had not
significant modifications. During pseudopregnancy, both form of
Lefty2 protein were found at very low levels, without variations.
Crypto transcripts, analyzed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, were
detected in the oviduct in the three studied conditions. Crypto
expression levels were increased at day 4 of pregnancy, as we have
reported for the lefty2 protein. Neither the estrous cycle nor the
pseudopregnancy showed variation in the crypto gene expression
pattern. These results suggest that Lefty2 and crypto are present in the
rat oviduct during pregnancy; that Lefty2 could act along a paracrine
pathway by binding to specific receptors on oviductal cells and that
their expression could be independent of steroid regulation. The
secretion of Lefty2 could be important for the embryo maintenance
during its pass through the oviduct.