The University of Sydney, Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia.
The University of Sydney, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2018 Feb 5;8(1):2412. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-20744-z.
Early pregnancy is a critical time for successful reproduction; up to half of human pregnancies fail before the development of the definitive chorioallantoic placenta. Unlike the situation in eutherian mammals, marsupial pregnancy is characterised by a long pre-implantation period prior to the development of the short-lived placenta, making them ideal models for study of the uterine environment promoting embryonic survival pre-implantation. Here we present a transcriptomic study of pre-implantation marsupial pregnancy, and identify differentially expressed genes in the Sminthopsis crassicaudata uterus involved in metabolism and biosynthesis, transport, immunity, tissue remodelling, and uterine receptivity. Interestingly, almost one quarter of the top 50 genes that are differentially upregulated in early pregnancy are putatively involved in histotrophy, highlighting the importance of nutrient transport to the conceptus prior to the development of the placenta. This work furthers our understanding of the mechanisms underlying survival of pre-implantation embryos in the earliest live bearing ancestors of mammals.
早期妊娠是成功繁殖的关键时期；多达一半的人类妊娠在确定的绒毛膜胎盘发育之前失败。与真兽类哺乳动物的情况不同，有袋类动物的妊娠以短暂胎盘发育之前的长着床前时期为特征，使它们成为研究在着床前促进胚胎存活的子宫环境的理想模型。在这里，我们对着床前有袋类动物妊娠进行了转录组研究，并鉴定了 Sminthopsis crassicaudata 子宫中与代谢和生物合成、运输、免疫、组织重塑和子宫接受性相关的差异表达基因。有趣的是，在妊娠早期差异上调的前 50 个基因中，近四分之一的基因可能参与组织营养，这突出了在胎盘发育之前向胚胎运输营养物质的重要性。这项工作进一步加深了我们对哺乳动物最早的活体祖先中着床前胚胎存活机制的理解。
