Evidence of Placental Autophagy during Early Pregnancy after Transfer of In Vitro Produced (IVP) Sheep Embryos

Pregnancies obtained by Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) are associated with limited maternal nutrient uptake. Our previous studies shown that in vitro culture of sheep embryos is associated with vascularization defects in their placentae and consequent reduction of embryo growth. Autophagy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2016-06, Vol.11 (6), p.e0157594-e0157594
Main Authors: Toschi, Paola, Czernik, Marta, Zacchini, Federica, Fidanza, Antonella, Loi, Pasqualino, Ptak, Grażyna Ewa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Animal embryology
Animals
Apoptosis
Autophagy
Autophagy (Cytology)
Biology and Life Sciences
Biomarkers - metabolism
Breeding of animals
Cell culture
Cell death
Cell survival
Embryo Transfer
Embryo, Mammalian
Embryos
Female
Fertilization
Fertilization in Vitro
Hypoxia
Immunology
In vitro fertilization
Mating
Medicine and Health Sciences
Metabolism
Mitochondria - ultrastructure
Nutrient uptake
Nutrients
Phagocytosis
Placenta
Placenta - pathology
Preeclampsia
Pregnancy
Reduction
Reproductive technologies
Sheep
Sheep - embryology
Vascularization
Veterinary medicine
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Summary:Pregnancies obtained by Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) are associated with limited maternal nutrient uptake. Our previous studies shown that in vitro culture of sheep embryos is associated with vascularization defects in their placentae and consequent reduction of embryo growth. Autophagy is a pro-survival cellular mechanism triggered by nutrient insufficiency. Therefore, the goal of our present study was to determine if autophagy is involved in early placental development after transfer of in vitro produced (IVP) embryos. To do this, placentae obtained following transfer of IVP sheep embryos were compared with placentae obtained after natural mating (control-CTR). The placentae were collected on day 20 post-fertilization and post-mating, respectively, and were analyzed using molecular (qPCR), ultrastructural and histological/immunological approaches. Our results show drastically increased autophagy in IVP placentae: high levels of expression (p
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0157594