Protein expression profiles in Meishan and Duroc sows during mid-gestation reveal differences affecting uterine capacity, endometrial receptivity, and the maternal–fetal Interface

Abstract

BackgroundEmbryonic mortality is a major concern in the commercial swine industry and primarily occurs early in gestation, but also during mid-gestation (~ days 50–70). Previous reports demonstrated that the embryonic loss rate was significant lower in Meishan than in commercial breeds (including Duroc). Most studies have focused on embryonic mortality in early gestation, but little is known about embryonic loss during mid-gestation.ResultsIn this study, protein expression patterns in endometrial tissue from Meishan and Duroc sows were examined during mid-gestation. A total of 2170 proteins were identified in both breeds. After statistical analysis, 70 and 114 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified in Meishan and Duroc sows, respectively. Between Meishan and Duroc sows, 114 DEPs were detected at day 49, and 98 DEPs were detected at day 72. Functional enrichment analysis revealed differences in protein expression patterns in the two breeds. Around half of DEPs were more highly expressed in Duroc at day 49 (DUD49), relative to DUD72 and Meishan at day 49 (MSD49). Many DEPs appear to be involved in metabolic process such as arginine metabolism. Our results suggest that the differences in expression affect uterine capacity, endometrial matrix remodeling, and maternal-embryo cross-talk, and may be major factors influencing the differences in embryonic loss between Meishan and Duroc sows during mid-gestation.ConclusionsOur data showed differential protein expression pattern in endometrium between Meishan and Duroc sows and provides insight into the development process of endometrium. These findings could help us further uncover the molecular mechanism involved in prolificacy.

Integrated analysis of transcriptomic and proteomic analyses reveals different metabolic patterns in the livers of Tibetan and Yorkshire pigs

“…Differences were tested for statistical significance USA). The detailed steps for enzymolysis and iTRAQ labeling have been described previously [5,9].…”

“…Characterization of mRNA and protein expression in the liver tissues of Tibetan pigs remains to be performed. Recently, high-throughput sequencing of DNA, RNA, and proteins, has been widely used to study physiological processes and traits [9,10] in pigs.…”

A unique 15-bp InDel in the first intron of BMPR1B regulates its expression in Taihu pigs

“…The position of the variants was determined by reference to the Sus Scrofa genome (version 10.2). Total RNA was isolated from the endometrium of Meishan and Duroc pigs 72 days after onset of pregnancy, following procedures described in a previous study [ 8 , 42 ]. Primers are shown in Table 2 .…”

Expression analysis of m6A-related genes in various tissues of Meishan pigs at different developmental stages

“…Nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) as the key gene of NF-κB signaling, positively regulates the hyaluronan biosynthesis, which may explain the wrinkled skin and face of Meishan pigs (Zhao et al, 2018;Zhou et al, 2021). Previous research studying the protein expression patterns in endometrial tissue from Meishan and Duroc sows revealed that there were 114 differentially expressed proteins identified at day 49 and 98 differentially expressed proteins were identified at day 72 during pregnancy, suggesting that the differentially expressed proteins may be a major factor influencing the differences in embryonic loss between Meishan and Duroc sows during mid-gestation (Wang et al, 2019a). However, given the high complexity of reproduction performance and related phenotypes, the genetic basis of superior characteristics in Meishan pigs remains largely unknown.…”