Tumor necrosis factor-α and its receptor in the corpus luteum of pregnant cows

✍ Scribed by Ryosuke Sakumoto; Shuko Murakami; Hisashi Kishi; Kosuke Iga; Akira Okano; Kiyoshi Okuda

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 95 KB
• Volume: 55
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1040-452X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1098-2795(200004)55:4<406::aid-mrd8>3.0.co;2-o

✦ Synopsis

The objective of this study was to investigate the presence of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-␣ mRNA and TNF-␣ receptors in the bovine corpus luteum (CL) during the gestation period. TNF-␣ mRNA and TNF-␣ receptors were determined on bovine CL from pregnant cows at three stages: trimester I (fetal crown-rump length; 6-20 cm), trimester II (25-45 cm) and trimester III (50-80 cm). TNF-␣ mRNA was detected by an RT-PCR analysis in the CL of all stages of gestation. A Scatchard analysis revealed the presence of a high-affinity binding site (Kd; 5.1-6.9 nM) in the CL membranes collected at each stage of gestation. Furthermore, the concentrations of TNF-␣ receptors in the CL of trimesters I (24.0 Ϯ 1.95 pmol/mg protein) and III (21.6 Ϯ 2.39 pmol/mg protein) of gestation were significantly higher than the concentration in trimester II (14.9 Ϯ 2.07 pmol/mg protein) (P Ͻ 0.05). These results indicate that TNF-␣ is locally produced and that TNF-␣ receptors are present in bovine CL during the gestation period, and suggest that TNF-␣ plays one or more roles as a paracrine factor in regulating bovine CL function during the entire gestation period.