A multiplexed parallel reaction monitoring assay to monitor bovine pregnancy-associated glycoproteins throughout pregnancy and after gestation.

Bovine pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (boPAGs) are extensively glycosylated secretory proteins of trophoblast cells. Roughly 20 different boPAG members are known but their distribution patterns and degree of glycosylation during pregnancy are not well characterized. The objective of the present study was the development of a parallel reaction monitoring-based assay for the profiling of different boPAGs during pregnancy and after gestation.

Establishment of a Sandwich-ELISA for simultaneous quantification of bovine pregnancy-associated glycoprotein in serum and milk.

Bovine pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (boPAG) are expressed by trophoblast cells in the bovine placenta. The multigene family of boPAG belongs to the group of aspartic proteases. The accumulation and circulation in maternal blood and milk has made boPAG very useful and important for pregnancy diagnosis in cattle.

mRNA expression profiling in cotyledons reveals significant up-regulation of the two bovine pregnancy-associated glycoprotein genes boPAG-8 and boPAG-11 in early gestation.

The multigene family of pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAGs) belongs to a group of aspartic proteases that are exclusively expressed by trophoblast cells in the placenta of even-toed ungulates. In Bovidae, 22 different PAG genes (boPAGs) with a wide range of temporal and spatial expression- and glycosylation patterns have been reported to date. In this study we describe the mRNA expression patterns using real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) for selected modern (boPAG-1, -9, -21) and ancient bovine PAGs (boPAG-2, -8, -10, -11, -12) in cotyledonary tissue.