Journal article
Uterine expression of cp4 gene homolog in the stripe-faced Dunnart, Sminthopsis macroura: Relationship with conceptus development and progesterone profile
E Menkhorst, L Selwood, S Cui
Molecular Reproduction and Development | WILEY | Published : 2009
DOI: 10.1002/mrd.21053
Abstract
The marsupial conceptus is surrounded by a uterine-secreted shell coat for 60-80% of gestation. Coat protein 4 (CP4) is the only marsupial shell coat protein characterized and it has only been identified in one species, the Common Brushtail Possum. In this possum, uterine transcription and secretion of cp4 during the oestrous cycle is biphasic and associated with the stage of conceptus development. Here we cloned cp4 (sm-cp4) from a distantly related species, the Stripe-faced Dunnart (Sminthopsis macroura). Transcription of sm-cp4 and secretion of smCP4 were identified by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The effect of reproductive hormones on sm-cp4 transcript..
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Funding Acknowledgements
The support of the Foundation for Research Science and Technology, New Zealand and the University of Melbourne is gratefully acknowledged. Kamani Nanayakkara and Angela Nation assisted with animal maintenance, monitoring and collection of samples and we are grateful for their expertise. Hongshi Yu and Mary Familiari provided the sequences for the house-keeping gene primers, and Elizabeth Pharo (all from the Department of Zoology, The University of Melbourne) provided materials and methods for the slice cultures.