Role of the uterine glands in the early embryonic death of mammals using natural model: the plains viscacha Lagostomus maximus (Rodentia, Chinchillidae).

FRANCISCO ACUÑA; CLAUDIO GUSTAVO BARBEITO; FABIAN NISHIDA; ENRIQUE LEO PORTIANSKY; MARÍA ANGÉLICA MIGLINO; MIRTA ALICIA FLAMINI

CABA

Congreso; International Federation of Placenta Associations 2019 (IFPA2019) and 8th Latin American Symposium on Maternal-Fetal Interaction and Placenta (VIII SLIMP); 2019

IFPA (International Federation of Placenta Associations)

Lagostomus maximus is a rodent with poly-implantation along the uterine horn (UH). Only implants close to the vagina will generate offspring. The reason for the reabsorption of the remaining implants is still unknown. In other mammals it was observed that the histotroph secreted by the uterine glands (UG) plays essential roles in the survival and growth of the implantations. The goal of the present work was to compare, using morphometry and immunohistochemical techniques, the UG of different sectors of the UH of non-pregnant viscachas, to establish differences potentially related to the reproductive characteristics of this species. Samples were taken from 7 UH sectors of 3 females following their cranial-caudal axis and processed for inclusion in paraffin. Slides were stained with Gomori´s trichrome technique. Height of the glandular epithelium (hGE), length of the UG (LUG) and glandular area (GA) of two uterine areas (vertex and center) were morphometrically analyzed using Image-Pro Plus. The mean values obtained were statistically analyzed (p≤0.05). Cell proliferation (PCNA) and apoptosis (Caspasa-3) were immunohistochemically evaluated. Significant differences were found in the three morphometric parameters analyzed between both uterine areas for all sectors, with higher values in the center of the organ. In addition, it was shown that these parameters increase in the cranial-caudal direction. PCNA identification was more intense in the glandular epithelium than in the lumen of all 7 sectors. Cas-3 was detected in both epithelia, although the intensity was greater in the luminal epithelium. These results may suggest that the larger size of the glands during of the UH caudal areas during early pregnancy could be related to a greater secretion of histotroph that would favor the survival and growth of the implantations of said location.