Metabolic compounds within the porcine uterine environment are unique to the type of conceptus present during the early stages of blastocyst elongation

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify metabolites within the porcine uterine milieu during the early stages of blastocyst elongation. At Days 9, 10, or 11 of gestation, reproductive tracts of White cross-bred gilts (n = 38) were collected immediately following harvest and flushed with Roswell Park Memorial Institute-1640 medium. Conceptus morphologies were assessed from each pregnancy and corresponding uterine flushings were assigned to one of five treatment groups based on these morphologies: (a) uniform spherical (n = 8); (b) heterogeneous spherical and ovoid (n = 8); (c) uniform ovoid (n = 8); (d) heterogeneous ovoid and tubular (n = 8);and (e) uniform tubular (n = 6). Uterine flushings from these pregnancies were submitted for nontargeted profiling by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)-MS techniques.Unsupervised multivariate principal component analysis (PCA) was performed using pcaMethods and univariate analysis of variance was performed in R with false discovery rate (FDR) adjustment. PCA analysis of the GC-MS and UPLC-MS data identified 153 and 104 metabolites, respectively. After FDR adjustment of the GC-MS and UPLC-MS data, 38 and 59 metabolites, respectively, differed (p < .05) in uterine flushings from pregnancies across the five conceptus stages. Some metabolites were greater (p < .05) in abundance for uterine flushings containing earlier stage conceptuses (i.e., spherical), such as uric acid, tryptophan, and tyrosine.In contrast, some metabolites were greater (p < .05) in abundance for uterine flushings containing later stage conceptuses (i.e., tubular), such as creatinine, serine, and urea. These data illustrate several putative metabolites that change within the uterine milieu during early porcine blastocyst elongation.

Global analysis of differential gene expression within the porcine conceptus transcriptome as it transitions through spherical, ovoid, and tubular morphologies during the initiation of elongation

“…In the current study, several genes involved in phospholipid and glycerophospholipid metabolism (Figure 5b ) (Kumari et al, 2012 ; Prasad et al, 2011 ; Shulga et al, 2011 ; C. L. E. Yen et al, 2002 ), phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine metabolism (Figure 5c ) (Cao et al, 2008 ; Golczak et al, 2012 ; Horibata & Hirabayashi, 2007 ; Payton et al, 2004 ; Schaloske & Dennis, 2006 ; Tsuboi et al, 2015 ), and the metabolism of membrane sphingolipids (Figure 5d ) (T. J. Kim et al, 2006 ; Lahiri et al, 2007 ; Tafesse et al, 2007 ; Takahashi & Suzuki, 2012 ; Xu et al, 2006 ) were significantly differentially expressed between 1st MT conceptus stages and T versus S morphologies. Previous studies have observed an increase in proteins involved in the metabolism of ceramide and other membrane sphingolipids, as well as in glycerophospholipid and sphingolipid metabolites, within uterine luminal fluid at the time of porcine conceptus elongation (Kayser et al, 2006 ; Walsh et al, 2020 ), providing further support for involvement of phospholipid membrane compositional changes in the initiation of porcine conceptus elongation. In addition to regulating cell maintenance and growth, membrane phospholipids play important roles in regulating membrane−associated protein activities and serve as precursors of bioactive lipids involved in intracellular signaling (Cao et al, 2008 ; Shulga et al, 2011 ; Tafesse et al, 2007 ; Takahashi & Suzuki, 2012 ).…”

“…Kim et al, 2006;Lahiri et al, 2007;Tafesse et al, 2007;Takahashi & Suzuki, 2012;Xu et al, 2006) were significantly differentially expressed between 1st MT conceptus stages and T versus S morphologies. Previous studies have observed an increase in proteins involved in the metabolism of ceramide and other membrane sphingolipids, as well as in glycerophospholipid and sphingolipid metabolites, within uterine luminal fluid at the time of porcine conceptus elongation (Kayser et al, 2006;Walsh et al, 2020), providing further support for involvement of phospholipid membrane compositional changes in the initiation of porcine conceptus elongation. In addition to regulating cell maintenance and growth, membrane phospholipids play important roles in regulating membrane−associated protein activities and serve as precursors of bioactive lipids involved in intracellular signaling (Cao et al, 2008;Shulga et al, 2011;Tafesse et al, 2007;Takahashi & Suzuki, 2012).…”

Capture and metabolomic analysis of the human endometrial epithelial organoid secretome

“…As such, the scarcity of comprehensive in vivo data (66,67) render robust comparisons a challenge. Rectifying this is by thoroughly metabolically profiling uterine fluid from women, similarly to what has been conducted in cattle (63,(68)(69)(70), sheep (71), pigs (72), and mice (73) will shed much needed light on the biochemistry surrounding maternal-embryo communication in our species, and allow us to better evaluate the merits of IOF as a UF surrogate.…”

Location, location, location: Feeding site affects aphid performance by altering access and quality of nutrients

“…After thorough mixing, 100 μL were aliquoted, dried under nitrogen, and then stored until analysis. The analysis of the dried samples was carried out at -80˚C as per Walsh et al [34]. Briefly, the dried samples were resuspended in 50 μL of pyridine containing 25 mg/mL of methoxyamine hydrochloride and incubated at 60˚C for 45 min.…”