Search

Early preimplantation embryo-maternal communication is crucial for the establishment and development of pregnancy. Though the involvement of several candidate genes and proteins in this complex event has been described, the hierarchy of molecular networks governing this communication remains unknown. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether the presence of embryos in the uterine lumen stimulated or inhibited gene expression in the uterine tissue on day 3.5 post coitum. To answer this question, we investigated the gene expression of dedicated signal transduction pathways in the uterus of CD-1 mice during the preimplantation stage of pregnancy and compared this expression to mice with induced pseudopregnancy. The expression levels of 84 genes assigned to nine intracellular signalling pathways were investigated by real-time PCR. The results demonstrated down-regulation of the uterine gene expression in the majority of pathways. Among target genes, 27 were significantly (p<0.05) down-regulated, and only three were significantly up-regulated. A majority of the down-regulated genes were found to be regulated by the TGFB and NFKB pathways, which suggests that the presence of the embryo selectively regulates signalling within signal transduction pathways. One of the up-regulated genes crucial for early pregnancy was Ptgs2 (p<0.05). The increased amount of both Ptgs2 gene and protein products indicates that Ptgs2 expression may be the earliest positive embryo signal for implantation and pregnancy recognition in mice. In conclusion, our results not only underline which signalling pathways are regulated in embryo-maternal communication before implantation but also support "the quiet state hypothesis" of silencing gene expression., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o.)

Determination of antibodies against ToRCH antigens at the beginning of pregnancy allows assessment of both the maternal immune status and the risks to an adverse pregnancy outcome. Age-standardised seroprevalences were determined in sera from 1009 women of childbearing age residing in Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Poland, Turkey or China using a multi-parametric immunoblot containing antigen substrates for antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii, rubella virus, cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1, HSV-2), Bordetella pertussis, Chlamydia trachomatis, parvovirus B19, Treponema pallidum and varicella zoster virus (VZV). Seroprevalences for antibodies against HSV-1 were >90% in samples from Brazil and Turkey, whereas the other four countries showed lower mean age-adjusted seroprevalences (range: 62.5–87.9%). Samples from Brazilian women showed elevated seroprevalences of antibodies against HSV-2 (40.1%), C. trachomatis (46.8%) and B. pertussis (56.6%) compared to the other five countries. Seroprevalences of anti-T. gondii antibodies (0.5%) and anti-parvovirus B19 antibodies (7.5%) were low in samples from Chinese women, compared to the other five countries. Samples from German women revealed a low age-standardised seroprevalence of anti-CMV antibodies (28.8%) compared to the other five countries. These global differences in immune status of women in childbearing age advocate country-specific prophylaxis strategies to avoid infection with ToRCH pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]