Comparative analysis between endometrial proteomes of pregnant and non-pregnant ewes during the peri-implantation period.

Background: Early pregnancy failure has a profound impact on both human reproductive health and animal production. 2/3 pregnancy failures occur during the peri-implantation period; however, the underlying mechanism(s) remains unclear. Well-organized modification of the endometrium to a receptive state is critical to establish pregnancy. Aberrant endometrial modification during implantation is thought to be largely responsible for early pregnancy loss.

Result: In this study, using well-managed recipient ewes that received embryo transfer as model, we compared the endometrial proteome between pregnant and non-pregnant ewes during implantation period. After embryo transfer, recipients were assigned as pregnant or non-pregnant ewes according to the presence or absence of an elongated conceptus at Day 17 of pregnancy. By comparing the endometrial proteomic profiles between pregnant and non-pregnant ewes, we identified 94 and 257 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in the endometrial caruncular and intercaruncular areas, respectively. Functional analysis showed that the DEPs were mainly associated with immune response, nutrient transport and utilization, as well as proteasome-mediated proteolysis.

Conclusion: These analysis imply that dysfunction of these biological processes or pathways of DEP in the endometrium is highly associated with early pregnancy loss. In addition, many proteins that are essential for the establishment of pregnancy showed dysregulation in the endometrium of non-pregnant ewes. These proteins, as potential candidates, may contribute to early pregnancy loss.