Physiological and molecular determinants of embryo-uterine interactions in ruminants

Abstract

Maternal recognition of pregnancy (MRP) manifests the various ways in which the mother responds to the presence of a conceptus within her reproductive tract. Corpus luteum produces progesterone, the hormone of pregnancy, which is required to stimulate and maintain endometrial functions that are permissive to early embryonic development, implantation, placentation, and successful fetal and placental development. The interaction between a competent embryo and a receptive uterine environment is responsible for successful growth and development of the post-hatching blastocyst and pregnancy establishment. Certain hormones, enzymes, cytokines, interleukins and gene transcripts contribute and regulate the bidirectional channel of communication during the pregnancy period in ruminants. During Maternal recognition of pregnancy some genes like interferon-tau (IFNT), Ubiquitin Cross Reactive Protein (UCRP), Ghrelin, Aldoketoreductase-1B5 (AKR1B5), SERPINA14 are appear to have role in successful establishment of pregnancy and expression of the cascade of signaling molecules. These genes regulate the endometrial environment to establish pregnancy in farm animals. MRP in ruminants requires that the conceptus elongates from a spherical to a tubular and then filamentous form to produce IFNT which is the pregnancy recognition signal. Genetic factors of both embryo and mother’s endometrium are also responsible for successful embryo development.