Gene expression profiles of some cytokines, growth factors, receptors, and enzymes (GM-CSF, IFNy, XXXX , IGF-II, EGF, TGF-b, IGF-IIR) during pregnancy in the cat uterus.

@entity73315 @entity73313 @entity4383 @entity73314 @entity468 @entity36947
UNASSIGNED: Early pregnancy is one of the most critical periods of pregnancy, and many factors such as cytokines, enzymes, and members of the immune system have to cooperate in a balanced way. In the present study, the gene expression profiles of factors associated with pregnancy such as EGF, transforming growth factor beta, @entity73313 were analyzed in uterine tissues of female @entity468 . The @entity468 were assigned to five groups: G1 (embryo positive, n  =  7; 7th day after mating), G2 (after implantation, n  =  7; 20th day after mating), G3 (midgestation, n  =  7; 24-25th day after mating), G4 (late gestation, n  =  7; 30-45th day after mating), G5 (oocyte group, n  =  7; 7th day after estrus). Tissue samples from the uterus and placenta were collected after ovariohysterectomy. Relative messenger RNA levels were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. All the factors examined were detected in all tissue samples. In the course of pregnancy, significantly higher expression of EGF and @entity36947 in G2 than in G1 was observed (P  <  0.05). @entity73314 expression was higher in all groups than in G1 (P  <  0.05). Upregulation of EGF during implantation was detected. The expression of interferon gamma was significantly higher in G3 than in G1 (P  <  0.05). @entity4383 growth factor beta and @entity73315 were constantly expressed in all groups. In conclusion, the expressions of these factors in feline uterine tissue at different stages of pregnancy might indicate that these factors play roles in the development of pregnancy such as trophoblast invasion, vascularization, implantation, and placentation.
