Placental development during early pregnancy in sheep: estrogen and progesterone receptor messenger RNA expression in pregnancies derived from in vivo–produced and in vitro–produced embryos

Sex steroids are important regulators of angiogenesis and growth in reproductive tissues, including the placenta. In experiment (exp.) 1, to examine the expression of a suite of sex steroid receptors throughout early pregnancy, maternal (caruncular [CAR]) and fetal (fetal membranes [FMs]) placental tissues were collected on days 14 to 30 after mating and on day 10 after estrus (nonpregnant controls). In exp. 2, to examine the hypothesis that assisted reproductive technology would affect the expression of the same suite of sex steroid receptors, pregnancies were achieved through natural mating (NAT) or transfer of embryos from natural mating (NAT-ET), in vitro fertilization (IVF), or in vitro activation (IVA), and CAR and FM were collected on day 22.

Source: Domestic Animal Endocrinology - June 4, 2015 Category: Endocrinology Authors: L.P. Reynolds, J.S. Haring, M.L. Johnson, R.L. Ashley, D.A. Redmer, P.P. Borowicz, A.T. Grazul-Bilska Source Type: research