The expression of p63 and Ck HMW in magnum and infundibulum of Gallus domesticus oviduct.

The potential for proliferation and differentiation has a critical meaning in terms of the long-term in vitro culture of oviductal target cells. Therefore, it is important to characterize the oviduct epithelial cells, using approved markers. There is scarce data describing the epithelial cells lining the avian oviduct, most of it referring only to the magnum section of the oviduct. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of both magnum and infundibulum tissues, as the most preferred sources of epithelial cells for research on production of recombinant proteins in oviducts of birds. The main objective was to evaluate the expression of p63 and high molecular weight cytokeratins (anti- p63 antibody and anti- High Molecular Weight Cytokeratins) in epithelial cells (EC) of 2 oviduct sections: magnum (proximal and middle) and infundibulum (distal). IHC analysis and western blotting were performed using the mouse monoclonal anti- p63 antibody and anti-Ck HMW. Immunoreactivity was quantified based on the Remmele - Stegner scoring system (0-12). The expression of p63 in nuclei of luminal cells was significantly higher in the infundibulum (P < 0.05), compared to the magnum section. Cytokeratins were also highly expressed in the infundibulum, but the difference was non-significant. These findings reveal new characteristics of the oviduct EC and designate the location of the source of cells in the oviduct tissue for in vitro culture.