Partial biochemical and immunological characterization of an isolated 52.1 kDa pregnancy-associated glycoprotein charge variant.

Pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAGs) are synthesized in the placental cells of ruminants and are detectable in blood, milk, and urine. Many of these proteins have been obtained and characterized from placental extracts by precipitation with 80 % ammonium sulfate. The possibility of purifying PAGs by precipitation with other concentrations of ammonium sulfate remains unexplored.

Expression and localization of vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptors in the pig uterus during peri-implantation and determination of the in vitro effect of the angiogenesis inhibitor SU5416 on VEGF system expression.

The aim of this work was to determine endometrial mRNA expression and uterine protein localization of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 during the estrous cycle and peri-implantation period in sows. Uterine tissues were collected from pregnant sows on days 12, 14, 16, and 18 after artificial insemination and from non-pregnant animals on days 2 and 12 of the estrous cycle (day 0 = day of estrus). Using immunohistochemistry, a positive signal for VEGF and its receptor VEGFR2 was found in uterine luminal epithelial cells, endometrial glands, stroma, blood vessels, and myometrium.

Paracrine effects of embryo-derived FGF4 and BMP4 during pig trophoblast elongation.

The crosstalk between the epiblast and the trophoblast is critical in supporting the early stages of conceptus development. FGF4 and BMP4 are inductive signals that participate in the communication between the epiblast and the extraembryonic ectoderm (ExE) of the developing mouse embryo. Importantly, however, it is unknown whether a similar crosstalk operates in species that lack a discernible ExE and develop a mammotypical embryonic disc (ED).