The objective of this work was to determine if specific circulating microRNA (miRNA) differed due to pregnancy status in heifers. Blood samples were collected from heifers 21 days after receiving an in vitro-produced embryo. Pregnancy status was diagnosed 21 days after embryo transfer, equivalent to day 28 of gestation, with rectal ultrasonography. Blood samples from 10 pregnant and 10 nonpregnant heifers were then evaluated for miRNA expression. There were five different miRNAs quantified using delta-delta Ct and qPCR methodology. These miRNAs had previously been associated with early pregnancy in cattle. The miRNA Let-7d-5p was decreased in nonpregnant as compared to pregnant females (p<0.05). There were no changes in 16-5p, 16-1-3p, 16-2-3p, and 26a-5p associated with pregnancy (p>0.05). Results demonstrate an opportunity to identify and study the differential expression of miRNAs from the blood of pregnant cows. The Let-7d-5p miRNA is a potential early pregnancy marker and is critical to better understand the early relationships of the cellular and molecular interactions of the cow and embryo.
A fascinating concept in biology, in my personal opinion, is how cells are able to make new cells expressing the information from genes to proteins all over the earth. From unicellular organisms, viruses, mycoplasma, protozoa, cancer cells, neurons to the most complex biological organisms and complex ecosystems, all of them rely on the gene expression. Darwin in his famous book "On the Origin of Species" in 1859, states that the species of organisms live and evolve through the natural selection processes. In 1976 Richard Dawkins states in his book "The Selfish Gene", that genes are the central piece in the way natural selection operates [1]. In this paper, I am going to explore the relationship between genes under the "selfish" rule and how these can inspire new technologies.
In this work we validated the previous scientific reports done in pooled samples by two different groups, over the miRNA expression in single blood from pregnant cows. Particularly we indagate the expression at day 28 after embryo transfer of let 7a, and 26a as well as 16 microRNAs (miRNA) family. By qPCR technique, we demonstrated that let 7a, and 26a increase maximum 2.1 and 2.6 fold change respectively in pregnant vs non-pregnant nulliparous heifers. This represents an exciting opportunity to use the differential expression of these miRNAs as early pregnancy markers and better understand the relationship with the cellular and molecular interaction between mother and embryo.
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