34 research outputs found
Undernutrition and stage of gestation influence fetal adipose tissue gene expression
Funded by the Scottish Governmentās Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS), including the Strategic Partnership for Animal Science Excellence (SPASE) and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (HD045784). None of the authors had any financial or personal conflicts of interest.Peer reviewedPostprin
Placental vascularity and markers of angiogenesis in relation to prenatal growth status in overnourished adolescent ewes.
INTRODUCTION: Placental vascularity may be important in the development of fetal growth restriction (FGR). The overnourished adolescent ewe is a robust model of the condition, with ā¼50% of offspring demonstrating FGR (birthweight >2 standard deviations below optimally-fed control mean). We studied whether placental vascularity, angiogenesis and glucose transport reflect FGR severity. METHODS: Singleton pregnancies were established in adolescent ewes either overnourished to putatively restrict fetoplacental growth (nĀ =Ā 27) or control-fed (nĀ =Ā 12). At 131d (termĀ =Ā 145d) pregnancies were interrupted and fetuses classified as FGR (nĀ =Ā 17, Ā Non-FGRĀ >Ā FGR and fetal:placental weight ratios were higher in overnourished versus Control groups. COT vascular indices were Non-FGRĀ >Ā FGRĀ >Ā Control. COT-CAD, CSD and APC were significantly greater in Non-FGR overnourished versus Control and intermediate in FGR groups. CAR vascularity did not differ. CAR-VEGFA/FLT1/KDR/ANGPT1/ANGPT2/SLC2A1/SLC2A3 mRNA was lower and COT-ANGPT2 higher in overnourished versus Control groups. DISCUSSION: Relative to control-intake pregnancy, overnourished pregnancies are characterised by higher COT vascularity, potentially a compensatory response to reduced nutrient supply, reflected by higher fetal:placental weight ratios. Compared with overnourished pregnancies where fetal growth is relatively preserved, overnourished pregnancies culminating in marked FGR have less placental vascularity, suggesting incomplete adaptation to the prenatal insult
Biotechnology and Reproductive Physiology at NDSU
The importance of biotechnology as it pertains to reproductive physiology in livestock is explained in depth in this article
Development of an assay to determine single nucleotide polymorphisms in the prion gene for the genetic diagnosis of relative susceptibility to classical scrapie in sheep
The objective of this study was to develop a reliable TaqmanĀ® 5\u27 Nuclease Assay for genotyping sheep for scrapie susceptibility. The sheep prion gene contains 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that may mediate resistance to classical scrapie, one at codon 136, alanine (A) or valine (V), and another at codon 171, arginine (R) or glutamine (Q). The R allele appears to confer resistance to classical scrapie, with the AA136 RR171 genotype the most resistant to scrapie and QR171 only rarely infected in the US sheep population. The Assays by DesignSM protocol was used for development of probes and primers for codon 136 and Primer ExpressĀ® for codon 171. Commercially available kits were used to isolate genomic DNA from blood or muscle. For validation, 70 SNP determinations for each codon were compared to commercial testing with an error rate of less than 1%. Then, 935 samples from blood (n = 818) and muscle (n = 117) were tested for both codons with 928 successful determinations and only 7 samples (\u3c1% of total samples) that needed repeating. Genotypes were AA QQ (n = 102; 11.0%), AV QQ (n = 28; 3.0%), AA QR (n = 396; 42.7%), AV QR (n = 54; 5.8%), and AA RR (n = 348; 37.5%). Thus, 86% of the sheep tested (n = 798) contained R at codon 171 and were expected to be scrapie-resistant. This new TaqmanĀ® 59 Nuclease SNP genotyping assay is accurate, easy to perform, and useful in the study of classical scrapie in sheep and its prevention through selective breeding programs to eliminate highly susceptible animals
Time-Course of the Uterine Response to Estradiol-17Ī² in Ovariectomized Ewes: Expression of Angiogenic Factors1
Effects of Second Messengers on Gap Junctional Intercellular Communication of Ovine Luteal Cells Throughout the Estrous Cycle1
EXPRESSION OF ANGIOGENIC FACTORS AND THEIR MAJOR RECEPTORS IN THE SHEEP PLACENTA THROUGHOUT THE EARLY PREGNANCY
Thyroid Hormones and Cortisol Concentrations in Offspring are Influenced by Maternal Supranutritional Selenium and Nutritional Plane in Sheep
To determine the effects of maternal supranutritional selenium (Se) supplementation and maternal nutritional plane on offspring growth potential, ewes were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 treatments in a 2 Ć 3 factorial arrangement [dietary Se (adequate Se; 9.5 Ī¼g/kg body weight vs. high Se; 81.8 Ī¼g/kg body weight initiated at breeding) and plane of nutrition [60%, 100%, or 140% of requirements; initiated on day 50 of gestation]]. Lambs were immediately removed from dams at birth and reared. Cortisol concentrations at birth were similar, but by 24 h, a relationship ( P = 0.02) between maternal Se supplementation and nutritional plane on cortisol concentrations was observed in lambs. A sex of offspring Ć day of age interaction ( P = 0.01) and a maternal Se supplementation Ć nutritional plane Ć day of age interaction ( P = 0.04) was observed for thyroxine concentrations. Differences in growth may be influenced by thyroid hormone production early in neonatal life