Project description:Whole blood was collected from sows and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated. CD3+CD4+, CD3+CD8+ and CD3+CD4+CD8+ were separately sorted by a cell sorter. Transcriptional profile of each T cell subset was obtained.
Project description:To identify the molecular markers of early pregnancy in pigs, we compared global gene expression profiles of the maternal peripheral blood in pregnant sows with the non-pregnant sows. Peripheral blood sample was collected at 14 days after insemination from the submandibular vein of pregnant and non-pregnant sows respectively, and total RNA was isolated, purified and sent for microarray analysis. This study identified 127 up-regulated and 56 down-regulated genes (FC >= 1.5 and P < 0.05) in peripheral blood from pregnant sows versus non-pregnant sows. Of the differently expressed genes, nine (including LPAR3, RXFP4, GALP, CBR1, CBR2, GPX6, USP18, LHB and NR5A1) were found to exert function related to early pregnancy processes. Seven differentially expressed genes (CHGB, USP18, VWF, LPAR3, NR5A1, PPARD, BIN1) were selected to perform qRT-PCR in the same RNA samples.The expression profiles of these genes detected by qRT-PCR were consistent with those by microarray, which confirmed the reliability of our microarray data.
Project description:The objective of modern pig breeding is to exhaust the genetic potential in reproduction performance of sows regarding to litter size and litter weight of piglets. During gestation period, umbilical cord contributes to placenta-fetal communication and plays an indispensable role in the intrauterine embryonic development. In this study, we attempted to analyze the molecular mechanism of reproductive declined in high-parity sows from the perspective of umbilical cord blood. Firstly, we analyzed the reproductive character data of sows, and then the histological analysis of umbilical cord phenotype was performed. Next, we evaluated the effect of umbilical cord blood exosomes (UCB-EXO) on angiogenesis. Moreover, the expression characteristics of miRNA in UCB-EXO of high-parity sows with poor reproductive performance (OS) and multiparous sows with excellent reproductive performance (MS) were analyzed. Results showed that the reproductive performance performed best at 3rd-7th and gradually decreased after 8th parities. Angiogenesis was repressed in OS piglets. Moreover, the Exo-MS exhibited pro-angiogenesis properties, with those of Exo-OS were diminished. With the increase of parities, the angiogenesis and immune function of sows decreased significantly, greatly limited the reproductive potential of sows. The data demonstrated that miRNAs of UCB-EXO played a central role in intrauterine development and suggested a novel possible explanation for reproductive potential, provides reference for increasing female reproductive efficiency.
Project description:In our previous sow study, two subpopulations of feed-restricted sows (60% of anticipated feed intake) were identified: ‘Restrict (Risk)’ that mobilized higher levels of body tissue stores (>40MJ ME day-1) compared to ‘Restrict (Non-Risk)’ sows (Patterson et al. Reprod. Fert. Deveopl., 2011, 23, 889-898) and although Risk sows maintain higher litter growth in the weaned litter, this was at the expense of lower embryonic weight in their subsequent litter compared with Non-Risk sows. To understand the underlying molecular mechanisms involved, we investigated the gene expression profiles of embryos from Risk and Non-Risk litters in this experiment.
Project description:To assess the nature of CD8+CD40L+ memory Tcells, we compared the gene expression to CD8+CD40L- and CD4+ counterparts, and found similarities in expression of genes encoding cytokines
Project description:Primiparous sows were randomly allocated to two treatments and were separated from piglets 8h daily from Day 21 of lactation companied with daily boar exposure for oestrus detection until weaning (Day 28). Gene expression of Day 9 embryos were compared between control sows (FE; sows artificially inseminated when in heat during lactation ) and Skip-a-Heat sows (SE; sows in heat during lactation and artificially inseminated on the following oestrus cycle).