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Reproduction, Fertility and Development Reproduction, Fertility and Development Society
Vertebrate reproductive science and technology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Expression of hyaluronan synthase-3 in porcine oviducal epithelium during oestrus

Paisan Tienthai A D , Naoko Kimura B , Paraskevi Heldin C , Eimei Sato B and Heriberto Rodriguez-Martinez A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden.

B Laboratory of Animal Reproduction, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, Sendai 981-8555, Japan.

C Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala University, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden.

D To whom correspondence should be addressed. email: paisan.tienthai@og.slu.se

Reproduction, Fertility and Development 15(2) 99-105 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD02100
Submitted: 5 December 2002  Accepted: 6 March 2003   Published: 6 March 2003

Abstract

Hyaluronan (HA) has been related to fertilization and embryo development in the pig. Furthermore, HA is present in pig oviduct fluid and the lining epithelium, particularly of the pre-ovulatory sperm reservoir. Because the mechanisms that regulate HA synthesis have not yet been clarified, semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was conducted to assess the expression of mRNAs of two HA-synthesizing enzymes (has2 and has3) in the oviduct epithelium (uterotubal junction, isthmus, ampullary–isthmic junction and ampulla segments) of non-inseminated (control) and inseminated (treatment) sows at pre-, peri- and post-ovulatory oestrus. Only has3 mRNA was detected; it was present in all tubal segments of both control and treatment samples. The level of has3 expression did not vary significantly between non-inseminated and inseminated specimens, but there was a tendency (NS) for increased mean values during the peri- and post-ovulatory stages compared with pre-ovulation. It is concluded that has3 is expressed by the porcine endosalpinx epithelium and the levels of expression do not vary during the critical periods of sperm transport and fertilization, despite fluctuating levels of HA in the tubal fluid at corresponding periods.

Extra keywords: has3


Acknowledgments

The skilled technical support of Hans Ekwall is gratefully acknowledged. Funding has been provided by FORMAS (formerly the Swedish Council for Forestry and Agricultural Research; SJFR) and the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT), through the ‘SLU–Japan Programme on Reproductive Biotechnology’, Stockholm, Sweden. The authors thank the Royal Thai Government and Chulalongkorn University for providing study leave to Dr Paisan Tienthai.


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