Immunohistochemical assessment of progesterone, oestrogen and glucocorticoid receptors in bovine placentomes during pregnancy, induced parturition, and after birth with or without retention of fetal membranes
A. Boos et al., Immunohistochemical assessment of progesterone, oestrogen and glucocorticoid receptors in bovine placentomes during pregnancy, induced parturition, and after birth with or without retention of fetal membranes, J REPR FERT, 120(2), 2000, pp. 351-360
Steroid hormones play an important role in placental development. However,
the exact cellular site of hormone action has not been evaluated in bovine
placentomes. Thus, the present immunohistochemical study was designed to as
sess the distribution of progesterone receptors, oestrogen receptors and gl
ucocorticoid receptors in bovine placentomes. Tissue specimens were obtaine
d from cows at slaughter and from cattle during pre-term Caesarean section
27 h after prostaglandin administration, immediately after spontaneous part
urition and from cattle that had retained the fetal membranes. Specific ant
ibodies were used for receptor demonstration in tissue sections. Progestero
ne receptors were only detected in maternal connective tissue cells, wherea
s oestrogen receptors were also present in maternal crypt epithelium. At sp
ecific sites, both receptor immunoreactivities remained constant or changed
significantly during pregnancy, were generally higher during Caesarean sec
tion and decreased post partum, but were less pronounced in cattle that rel
eased the fetal membranes than in those that retained the fetal membranes.
Glucocorticoid receptors were evident in fetal connective tissue cells as w
ell as in fetal and maternal blood vessels. Maternal crypt epithelial cells
showed increasing immunoreactivities for glucocorticoid receptors during p
regnancy. Receptor immunoreactivities tended to be lower after spontaneous
parturition than during Caesarean section; these results were significant f
or progesterone and oestrogen receptors in animals that released the fetal
membranes but not for those that retained the fetal membranes. The results
indicate that in bovine placentome steroid hormone receptors are distribute
d in patterns that are specific to the type of cell, the stage of pregnancy
and the tissue location, implying highly specific modulation of placental
metabolism. Retention of the fetal membranes is reflected by altered placen
tal receptor states at parturition.