Transkriptomprofilierung von Embryo- und Endometriumsbiopsien basierend auf dem Trächtigkeitserfolg nach Transfer von in vitro und in vivo produzierten bovinen Embryonen
Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse
Embryonic implantation to establish a pregnancy is a complex process and requires appropriate communication between the embryo and the maternal endometrium. Inadequate uterine receptivity is thought to be responsible for the majority of implantation failures. In order to provide a comprehensive inventory of genes and functional networks that represent the maternal part of the embryo-maternal crosstalk a longitudinal holistic study of the endometrial transcriptome in relation to the day of oestrus cycle and to the receptivity of the endometrium and transcriptional profile of blastocyst biopsies collected prior to transfer was performed based on the pregnancy success after transfer. Moreover, comparative transcriptional analysis of in vitro versus in vivo derived embryos at days 16 and 28 of gestation was performed in bovine. The study revealed that at early time points of the estrous cycle, transcripts related to many molecular pathways show divergent expression and longitudinal temporal regulation in the endometrium or embryo groups. Key components of these molecular pathways are known to be dependent of ovarian hormones promoting the role of hormone levels and tissue responsiveness to the hormones for uterine receptivity. Therefore, the present study highlights the potential of pretransfer endometrial and embryo gene expression patterns as predictors of pregnancy success in cattle.