Correlation of two radioimmunoassay systems for measuring plasma pregnancy-associated glycoproteins concentrations during early pregnancy and postpartum periods in water buffalo.

This is the first time that PAG determination using two different antisera raised against PAG molecules purified from both caprine (RIA-706) and bubaline placentas (RIA-860) is reported in water buffalo. Ninety-eight buffalo cows, belonging to a buffalo herd subjected to a synchronization and artificial insemination (AI) programme, were enrolled in this study. Blood samples were taken on days 0 (AI), 23, 25, 28, 30 and 45. Pregnancy was confirmed by ultrasonography on days 28 and 45. The blood of 20 buffaloes that had calved was tested every five days from the day of calving until day 50 postcalving. Differences in PAG concentrations were observed between pregnant and nonpregnant buffaloes starting from day 23 post AI using both RIA-706 and RIA-860 (p < 0.001). However, estimated mean concentrations of PAG measured by RIA-706 were higher than RIA-860 (p < 0.001) and Bland-Altman analysis showed biases ranged from 0.0 ng/ml at day 23 to 0.79 ng/ml at day 28 post AI. Moreover, RIA-706 showed greater sensitivity and accuracy both at 23 and 25 days of pregnancy. RIA-706 and RIA-860 decreased below 1 ng/ml from 40 and 30 days postpartum, respectively, suggesting that PAG are better recognized by the antisera raised against the caprine PAG in the postpartum period also. This is essential when using PAG as an appropriate marker of early pregnancy after postpartum for detecting new pregnancies. The results of this study show that the ability of RIA systems to recognize early PAG could be improved using antisera raised against PAG molecules isolated from caprine placenta.

Pregnancy-associated glycoproteins in cows with retained fetal membranes.

In cows, retained fetal membranes (RFM) are a major problem in reproduction. The timely detachment of fetal membranes after parturition requires well coordinated maturation processes in the placenta. One feature of placental maturation in cows is a prepartal decline in the number of binucleate trophoblast giant cells (BNC) in the fetal chorion. Pregnancy associated glycoproteins (PAGs) are a group of proteins, produced by trophoblast cells in artiodactyls. We studied aspects of PAG expression in cows with and without RFM. The numerical density of PAG-positive immunostained BNC in placentomal samples, collected from cows with normal expulsion of fetal membranes (n = 20) and cows with RFM (n = 20) was determined. The number of PAG-positive BNCs was significantly higher in cows with RFM, compared to controls. The concentration of PAGs in maternal serum in prepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum cows was measured (RFM n = 20; controls n = 68). No significant differences between RFM and controls were detected. Microarray analysis of placental PAG mRNA expression was done with two types of microarrays: Affymetrix (RFM n = 20; controls n = 20) and Agilent (RFM n = 8; controls n = 8). Both microarrays showed a significantly higher expression of modern PAGs in RFM cases. Our results show that the expression of modern PAGs, which are produced by BNCs and are secreted into the maternal organism, are differentially expressed in RFM. Although the concentration in peripheral maternal blood did not differ between RFM and controls, the local concentration in the placenta is likely to be higher in RFM cases. This suggests the possibility of local regulatory roles of PAG in the release of bovine fetal membranes.

Identification of pregnancy-associated glycoproteins and alpha-fetoprotein in fallow deer (Dama dama) placenta.

BACKGROUND: This paper describes the isolation and characterization of pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAG) from fetal cotyledonary tissue (FCT) and maternal caruncular tissue (MCT) collected from fallow deer (Dama dama) pregnant females. Proteins issued from FCT and MCT were submitted to affinity chromatographies by using Vicia villosa agarose (VVA) or anti-bovine PAG-2 (R#438) coupled to Sepharose 4B gel. Finally, they were characterized by SDS-PAGE and N-terminal microsequencing. RESULTS: Four distinct fallow deer PAG (fdPAG) sequences were identified and submitted to Swiss-Prot database. Comparison of fdPAG with PAG sequences identified in other ruminant species exhibited 64 to 83% identity. Additionally, alpha-fetoprotein was identified in fetal and maternal tissues. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate the efficacy of VVA and bovine PAG-2 affinity chromatographies for the isolation of PAG molecules expressed in deer placenta. This is the first report giving four specific amino acid sequences of PAG isolated from feto-maternal junction (FCT and MCT) in the Cervidae family.

Relationship between plasma progesterone and pregnancy-associated glycoprotein concentrations during early pregnancy in dairy cows.

The relationship between the concentration of plasma progesterone (P4) during embryo attachment or at recognition of pregnancy, and that of pregnancy-associated glycoprotein (PAG) was assessed in dairy cows. The outcome of artificial insemination (AI) was classified as positive (AI+), negative (AI-), or late embryonic mortality (EM) by measuring circulating PAG concentrations and by ultrasonography. Based on P4 concentrations at either day 21 or day 15, AI+ and EM cows were classified into 'low' (P4 concentrationsmean) P4 groups. In both experiments, the threshold of P4 concentration between the 'low' and 'high' groups was approximately 6ng/mL. PAG concentrations were lower in the 'low' group only when P4 concentrations were below the threshold. The study findings suggest that a possible P4 threshold exists below which PAG secretion may be impaired.

Native and recombinant bovine placental lactogens.

The bovine placenta produces a wide variety of proteins that are structurally and functionally similar to the pituitary proteins from the GH/PRL gene family. Bovine placental lactogen (bPL) is a 200-amino acid long glycoprotein hormone that exhibits both lactogenic and somatogenic properties. The apparent molecular masses of purified native (n) bPL molecules (31-33 kDa) exceed 23 041 Da, which is the theoretical molecular mass of the protein core. At least six isoelectric variants (pI: 4.85-6.3) of bPL were described in cotyledonary extracts and three different bPL isoforms (pI: 4.85-5.25) were found in fetal sera. The bPL molecules that are detected in higher concentrations in peripheral circulation exhibit a more acidic pI than those present in placental homogenates. This may reflect an important glycosylation process occurring just prior to the bPL secretion. The bPL mRNA is transcribed in trophectoderm binucleate cells starting from Day 30 of pregnancy until the end of gestation. In mothers, bPL is involved in the regulation of ovarian function, mammogenesis, lactogenesis, and pregnancy stage-dependent adaptation of nutrient supplies to the fetus. Due to the higher fetal, compared to maternal concentrations of circulating hormone, it has been suggested that bPL primarily targets fetal tissues.