Changes in various endometrial proteins during cloprostenol-induced failure of early pregnancy in mares

Various major proteins in uterine secretions flushed from mares on day 20 of gestation have been identified and related to levels of gene expression in endometrial biopsies. Pregnancy-related changes were determined by comparison with samples from mares on day 20 after being given a luteolytic IM dose of cloprostenol on day 18, and with cycling mares that were not pregnant on days 17-20. Proteins in cell-free uterine flush samples were identified by LC-MS/MS of trypsin- digested peptides. Levels of endometrial expression were estimated from raw signal strength in Agilent 21322 E. caballus expression microarray. In this paper we describe a subset of pregnancy-related endometrial proteins with potential roles in embryonic development and/or mucosal innate immunity. Endometrial proteins that increased greatly during pregnancy included GM2 activator (GM2A), lipocalin 2 (LCN2), stanniocalcin 1 (STC1) and uterine serpin (SERPINA14). Endometrial proteins that decreased in normal pregnancy included secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2), secretoglobin 1A1 (SCGB1A1), and vanin 1 (VNN1). Cloprostenol-induced failure of pregnancy resulted in increased endometrial expression of SPLA2, cathepsin L1 (CTSL1), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL1RN), SCGB1A1 epididymal secretory protein E1 (NPC2), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4), uteroferrin/TRAP5 (ACP5), SERPINA14, annexin A1 (ANXA1), annexin A3 (ANXA3), and vanin 3 (VNN3). Expression of P19 uterocalin (P19) was similarly high in pregnant and non-pregnant endometrium, and virtually undetectable in the yolk-sac wall. High levels of expression of ANXA2, GM2A, NPC2, CTSL1 and RBP4 in both endometrium and yolk-sac wall suggests that these have important roles on both sides of the maternal:conceptus interface. The properties and distribution of GM2A and NPC2 suggest that they are important in the transport of phospholipids and sterols. SPLA2, LCN2, SCGB1A1 and IL1RA have potential roles in mucosal innate immunity but their production is reduced during early pregnancy. These studies provide an inventory of many proteins in the uterine lumen during early pregnancy, and a subset for which local endometrial expression is altered when pregnancy is compromised by cloprostenol-induced luteolysis.(AU)

Changes in various endometrial proteins during cloprostenol-induced failure of early pregnancy in mares

Various major proteins in uterine secretions flushed from mares on day 20 of gestation have been identified and related to levels of gene expression in endometrial biopsies. Pregnancy-related changes were determined by comparison with samples from mares on day 20 after being given a luteolytic IM dose of cloprostenol on day 18, and with cycling mares that were not pregnant on days 17-20. Proteins in cell-free uterine flush samples were identified by LC-MS/MS of trypsin- digested peptides. Levels of endometrial expression were estimated from raw signal strength in Agilent 21322 E. caballus expression microarray. In this paper we describe a subset of pregnancy-related endometrial proteins with potential roles in embryonic development and/or mucosal innate immunity. Endometrial proteins that increased greatly during pregnancy included GM2 activator (GM2A), lipocalin 2 (LCN2), stanniocalcin 1 (STC1) and uterine serpin (SERPINA14). Endometrial proteins that decreased in normal pregnancy included secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2), secretoglobin 1A1 (SCGB1A1), and vanin 1 (VNN1). Cloprostenol-induced failure of pregnancy resulted in increased endometrial expression of SPLA2, cathepsin L1 (CTSL1), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL1RN), SCGB1A1 epididymal secretory protein E1 (NPC2), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4), uteroferrin/TRAP5 (ACP5), SERPINA14, annexin A1 (ANXA1), annexin A3 (ANXA3), and vanin 3 (VNN3). Expression of P19 uterocalin (P19) was similarly high in pregnant and non-pregnant endometrium, and virtually undetectable in the yolk-sac wall. High levels of expression of ANXA2, GM2A, NPC2, CTSL1 and RBP4 in both endometrium and yolk-sac wall suggests that these have important roles on both sides of the maternal:conceptus interface. The properties and distribution of GM2A and NPC2 suggest that they are important in the transport of phospholipids and sterols. SPLA2, LCN2, SCGB1A1 and IL1RA have potential roles in mucosal innate immunity but their production is reduced during early pregnancy. These studies provide an inventory of many proteins in the uterine lumen during early pregnancy, and a subset for which local endometrial expression is altered when pregnancy is compromised by cloprostenol-induced luteolysis.

Disruption of astroglial interlaminar processes in Alzheimer's disease.

A palisade of long, interlaminar astroglial processes in supragranular layers of the cerebral cortex is characteristic of adult individuals of anthropoid species. In the present study, this distinctive cytoarchitectonic feature was analyzed in tissue deriving from the neocortex of cases affected by Alzheimer's disease (n=14) and age-matched control cases (n=10). Samples of different cortical areas, and in particular prefrontal, temporal and striate fields, were analyzed. Astroglia was labeled by glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity, that allowed a clear distinction between the classical, stellate intralaminar astroglia and the interlaminar glial processes. The occurrence and relative density of neuritic plaques were ascertained in the same specimens with Bielchowsky staining. In most cortical regions of cases diagnosed as severe Alzheimer's disease by the donor institutions, interlaminar astroglia was found to be markedly altered or absent, and replaced by hypertrophic intralaminar astrocytes. Cases diagnosed as milder or uncertain Alzheimer's disease showed a less consistent involvement of the interlaminar glial palisade. Alterations of the interlaminar palisade in the cortex affected by Alzheimer's disease did not strictly correlate with the density of neuritic plaques in the examined specimens. The findings indicate that loss/severe disruption of the interlaminar palisade of astroglial processes is part of the array of neuropathological changes occurring in the cerebral cortex during Alzheimer's disease. In addition, our data indicate that different types of neocortical astrocytes (namely intralaminar and interlaminar astrocytes) respond differently to the pathobiology of Alzheimer's disease in the neocortex, inasmuch as interlaminar processes tend to disappear while intralaminar processes become reactive.

Direct measurement of the pion valence-quark momentum distribution, the pion light-cone wave function squared.

We present the first direct measurements of the pion valence-quark momentum distribution which is related to the square of the pion light-cone wave function. The measurements were carried out using data on diffractive dissociation of 500 GeV/c pi(-) into dijets from a platinum target at Fermilab experiment E791. The results show that the /q&q> light-cone asymptotic wave function describes the data well for Q2 approximately 10 (GeV/c)(2) or more. We also measured the transverse momentum distribution of the diffractive dijets.

Observation of color-transparency in diffractive dissociation of pions.

We have studied the diffractive dissociation into dijets of 500 GeV/c pions scattering coherently from carbon and platinum targets. Extrapolating to asymptotically high energies (where t(min)-->0), we find that when the per-nucleus cross section for this process is parametrized as sigma = sigma0Aalpha, alpha has values near 1.6, the exact result depending on jet transverse momentum. These values are in agreement with those predicted by theoretical calculations of color-transparency.