Study on FSHR and LHR mRNA Levels of Different BMPRIB Genotypes of Small Tail Han Sheep During the Oestrum

The relationship between different BMPRIB genotypes of Small Tail Han sheep and FSHR and LHR mRNA levels during the oestrum was studied using semiquantitative PCR. The results indicated that FSHR mRNA extracted from the right ovary of BB (1.14 ± 0.11) ewes showed higher levels compared with AA (0.44 ± 0.11) and AB (0.36±0.08) ewes (P ＜ 0.01), and LHR mRNA extracted from the right ovary of BB (0.42±0.02) ewes showed significantly higher levels compared with AA (0.23 ±0.02) and AB (0.25 ±0.04) ewes (P＜0.01); however, the mRNA extracted from the left ovary showed no significant difference in levels among the genotypes during the oestrum. It indicated that the fecundity induced by a mutation of BMPRIB in Small Tail Han sheep may be related to the changes of the mRNA expression of LHR and FSHR in ovary.     

Developmental Changes of the LPL mRNA Expression and Its Effect on IMF Content in Sheep Muscle

This study investigates the developmental changes of the lipoprotein lipase （LPL） mRNA level in sheep muscle and its effect on intramuscular fat （IMF） accumulation. Male Kazak and Xinjiang Merino sheep at 2-120 days old were selected. Six animals of each breed were slaughtered at 2, 30, 60, 90, and 120 days （only the Xinjiang Merino sheep at 120-day old were available） to collect samples from longissimus dorsi muscle for the purpose of determining the IMF content and extracting total RNA that was used to investigate the developmental changes of the LPL mRNA expression by real-time PCR. The results showed that in male Kazak sheep, the IMF content increased with the progress of development and there were significant differences （P〈0.05） between the age groups. However, there was no difference （P〉0.05） between age groups in Xinjiang Merino sheep. Furthermore, the IMF content of the male Kazak sheep was significantly higher （P 〈 0.01） than that of the Xinjiang Merino sheep aged from 30 to 90 days. The highest LPL mRNA expression appeared at day 2 and it was significantly higher than that of all other age groups （P 〈 0.01）, while animals at 60-day old had the lowest LPL mRNA expression in the male Kazak sheep. In Xinjiang Merino sheep, the highest one occurred at 30-day old （P〈0.01）, followed by a continuous decrease to the lowest level at 90-day old, and then it started to increase slightly. At 2 to 60-day old, the LPL mRNA expression was negatively correlated to the IMF content （r=-0.625, P 〈 0.05） in male Kazak sheep, but no such relationship was detected in the male Xinjiang Merino sheep.     

Effects of Different Progesterone Plugs on Estrous Control in Ewe

In breeding season and non-breeding season, the effects of three kinds of progesterone plugs on estrous control in ewes were studied. Meanwhile, the advantages and the disadvantages of the progesterone plugs were analyzed. The results showed that there were no significant difference among three progesterone plugs on modulating the ewes＇ estrus and pregnancy, and affecting estrous rate and fecundation rate （P〉0.05）. It was observed that the progesterone plug produced by Animal Husbandry Research Center of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences could modulate the ewes＇ estrus and pregnancy effectively, and the low cost and convenience in operation made it popularize in the reproducation of sheep widely.     

The TLR Expression Pattern on Monocyte-Derived Macrophages for Lipopolysaccharid Stimulation of Calves

In this paper, toll-like receptor expression pattern in monocytes-derived macrophages by lipopolysaccharid （LPS） stimulation was examined. Jugular venous blood samples from 4 Japanese calves were obtained and the peripheral blood mononuclear cells （PBMC） were isolated. The PBMC were cultured for 7 d so as to collect monocytes-derived macrophages in Repcell. The PBMC were stimulated by LPS for 24 h and the mRNA expression pattern of TLR and cytokines in monocytes-derived macrophages （Mod-Mφ） was analyzed. Results showed that LPS stimulation of Mod-Mφ could increase the mRNA levels of the genes of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8. In addition, the mRNA levels of the genes of TNF-α and IL-6 in the group of LPS stimulation were most significantly （P 〈 0.01） higher than those in control group and the mRNA levels of TLR1, 3, 5, 8, and 10 were significantly （P 〈 0.05） decreased after LPS stimulation. There was no difference in the mRNA expressions of TLR2, 4, 6, and 7 between the groups of the control and LPS stimulation. Besides, expression of TLR9 was not found. It suggested that monocytes-derived macrophages could respond to LPS and they might take an important role in the innate immunity. The important function of the cells might contribute to better disease treatment.     

绵羊肌肉生长激素受体基因表达的发育性变化研究(英文)

[Objective] The study aimed to explore the expression of muscular growth hormone receptor gene (GHR) in sheep at the early stage of growth and development. [Method] The GHR mRNA expression levels in longissimus dorsal muscles of male Kazak sheep and Xinjiang fine wool sheep with different ages were quantitatively analyzed by real time PCR. [Result] Sheep GHR mRNA expression level in longissimus dorsal muscle increased firstly followed by decline, and then kept steady until the end of the experiment, with the expression peak appearing on postnatal day 30. The GHR mRNA expression level of Kazak sheep was extremely lower than that of Xingjiang fine wool sheep from 2 to 90 days old (P<0.01). [Conclusion] Both age and breed had great effects on the expression of muscular GHR gene in sheep.     

Follicle-stimulating hormone is expressed in ovarian follicles of chickens and promotes ovarian granulosa cell proliferation

Follicle-stimulating hormone(FSH), an important hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis(HPG) hormone, is secreted by the pituitary gland. This study confirms that FSH is expressed in chicken follicles at different stages, and positive FSHβ mRNA signals were stronger(P0.05) in granulosa cells than in oocytes. The 369 bp coding sequence of FSHβ in ovaries is 100% identical to that in the pituitary gland. The experiment in vitro revealed that the ovary possessed FSH secretory capacity. Further, FSHβ mRNA was significantly upregulated(P0.05) in follicles and significantly higher(P0.05) than that in the pituitary gland by approximately 2–23 times with the development. The number of granulosa cells decreased significantly(P0.05) in the cells with siRNA treatment, confirming that the ovarian FSH could promote granulosa cell proliferation. This view was supported by cell cycle analysis and CCND2 and CCNE2 expression. Further research indicated that no difference(P0.05) was observed between the number of granulosa cells treated with FSHβ siRNA and in exogenous FSH. However, the number of granulosa cells without FSHβ siRNA transfection was significantly higher(P0.05) for exogenous FSH. This finding suggests that the proliferative effect of exogenous FSH on ovarian granulosa cells depend on endogenous FSH. This study demonstrated that the FSH gene was expressed in chicken follicles and promoted ovarian granulosa cell proliferation, which enriched the theory on HPG axis.     

Expression of HSP72 in Mouse Preimplantation Embryos with Heat Shock

The objective of the paper was to detect HSP72 expression and HSP72 gene sequence in heat shocked mouse preimplantation embryos and the effects of different thermo conditions on hatching rates of embryos. The mouse blastocysts cultured in vitro were heat treated at 40℃ and 38℃ for 1 h, 2 h and 3 h and then recovered at 370C for 3 h, 2 h and 1 h, respectively, to detect their HSP72 gene expression by using RT-PCR after the total R.NA extraction. The hatching rate of the blastocysts for different treated groups was recorded and the expression of liSP72 in the blastocysts was determined by Western blot. The results showed that all the groups of blastocysts, including the control, had the expression of HSP72 gene. The expression of HSP72 protein had the highest level in the embryos stressed at 38℃ for 2 h, and it was significantly higher than that in the control group. The expression of HSP72 in the groups of blastocysts treated at 40℃ was not significantly different from that in the control group. The embryos with induction of mild heat shock at 38℃ for 2 h, then subjected to heat shock at 40℃ for 2 h, had a significant higher （P〈0.05） hatching rate of 54.74% compared to 47.85% in the embryos treated directly at 40℃ for 2 h. The above results indicated that the mouse blastocysts were sensitive to heat shock and a mild heat shock induced HSP72 gene expression. Induction of HSP72 expression with mild heat shock helped embryos to tolerate more severe heat shocks.     

Adjuvant Effects of Recombinant Plasmids of Porcine IL-4 and IFN-γ to Cysticercosis cellulosae Vaccines in Mice and Pigs

To investigate the adjuvant potential of porcine IL-4 and IFN-γ in mice and pigs, the genes of porcine IL-4 and IFN-γ were cloned and the recombinant mammalian expression plasmids were constructed for in vivo expression of the cytokines. Adjuvant effects of recombinant expression plasmids of IL-4 and IFN-γ （pcDNA-IL-4, pcDNA-IFN-γ） co-administrated with Cysticercus cellulosae crude antigen or TSOL18 recombinant protein antigen have been carried out in mice and pigs, respectively. We have demonstrated that recombinant plasmids of the cytokines as an adjuvant could induce stronger immune response in mice and pigs. With the C. cellulosae parasite antigen, porcine pcDNA-IL-4 induced higher specific antibody of immunized mice than pcDNA-IFN-γ. But pcDNA-IFN-γ is significantly stronger than that of no adjuvant or empty plasmids with the antigen control group. For the TSOL18 recombinant protein antigen vaccine, pcDNA-IL-4 still had a stronger ability to enhance specific antibody in swine than pcDNA-IFN-γ （P 〈 0.01）, but the immune protective rate was lower in challenged pigs （only 68.7%）. Although pcDNA-IFN-γ showed lower specific antibody, the protection rate was very high （91%） than other group （P 〈 0.01）. This study indicated that the recombinant expression plasmids of porcine IL-4 and IFN-γ display stronger adjuvant effects to C. cellulosae vaccine, further research should be carried out for understanding of the interaction mechanism.     

A Study on the Activity of Carboxylesterase and the Differential Expression of Its Gene in the Midguts of Bombyx mori Resistant to BmDNV-Z

This study was to discuss the relationship among the change in the activity of Bombyx mori carboxylesterase （BmCarE） in the midguts, the differential expression of BmCarE gene （bmcare） in the midguts, and the ability of Bombyx mori resistant to densonucleosis virus （BmDNV）, and to elucidate the molecular mechanism of resistance to BmDNV-Z. With two silkworm strains, HUABA, which is susceptible to BmDNV-Z, and BC8 （a near isogenic line of HUABA）, which is completely resistant to the same virus, as materials, the activity of BmCarE in the midgut was determined by Bio-Tek Synergy, and the differential expression of bmcare between the two strains was investigated by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR, both at 12, 36, and 72 h post oral inoculation of the two strains with virus （hereafter referred as inoculation）. While the activity of BmCarE in the midguts of BC8 inoculation group at 12 h post inoculation was higher than that in the BC8 control group, the HUABA inoculated group, and the HUABA control group by 3.28, 2.26, and 3.02 times, respectively, with the difference being highly significant （P 〈 0.01）, there was no statistical difference among the other groups. The relative expression level of bmcare in the midguts of BC8 inoculation group at 12 h post inoculation was higher than that in the BC8 control group, the HUABA inoculation group, and the HUABA control group by 17.714, 21.76, and 15.09 times, respectively, with the difference being highly significant （P 〈 0.01）, and there was no statistical difference among other groups. The elevation of BmCarE activity and expression level of bmcare in the resistant strain at 12 h post inoculation may relate to the resistant gene （nsd/nsd） and the stimulation of BmDNV-Z. The molecular basis for the elevation of BmCarE activity in the resistant strain BC8 may be the change in the expression level of bmcare.     

Expansin Genes Expressed Differentially in Peduncle Elongation of Near- Isogenic Wheat Rht Lines

The introduction of reduced height （Rht） genes Rht-Blb and Rht-Dlb led to impressive increases in wheat （Triticum aestivum L.） yields during the Green Revolution. In the present study, the dynamic elongation of peduncle in a set ofnear-isogenic lines （NILs） carrying different Rht alleles （Rht-Blb, Rht-Dlb, Rht-Blc, Rht-Dlb＋Rht-Blb, and Rht-Dlb＋Rht-Blc） were investigated. The reduction of the final length of peduncle in NILs was dependent mainly on the elongation rate, which was reduced by Rht genes, during rapid elongation phase. Resin sections showed that Rht genes strongly reduced the cell extension in peduncle. The expression of expansin genes, which mediate cell wall loosening and leading to cell expansion, were analysed by using real- time quantitative PCR （qPCR）. Among the 23 possible wheat expansin genes, 17 were expressed in the peduncle. The spatial distribution of expression was further analysed for five expansins that showed high expression levels in the peduncles of Rht lines. Compared to wild type plants, the incorporation of Rht-Dlb allele decreased about 37 and 80% of the expression levels of ExpA 7 and ExpA3 in elongation zone, respectively. The presence Rht-Blc dwarfing genes, however, produced 53% reduction in the expression level of ExpA7, and seriously decreased about 70% of ExpB9 expression. Although the expression levels of five genes exhibited variability among the lines, an expansin gene, ExpB2, showed its expression level highly associated with the cell elongation rate in peduncle of different Rht lines.     

Studies on the Relationship between the Follicular Blood Micro—Circulation and Ovulation

Twelve purebred Har Bai rabbits with a body weight of 3-4 kg were seleeted and divided in-to four groups at random.they were treated with FSH and hCG atfter the second estrus,The four groups of rabbits were killed at the beginning of estrus ,the beginning of ovulation,15h and 39 h after the beginning of ovulation respectively ,The follicles of 0.5-2 mm in diameter were dissected from the ovaries were fixed ,sectioned ,mounted and stained for examination under light and elec-tron microscopes,The results showed that blood micro-circulation of follicles at the onset of esturs was normal and cells of the theca interna and granular cells were active in metabolism in most of the follicles ,examined at the beginning of ovulation,the blood micro-circulation became disordered,the cells became not active in matbolism and follicular stigmaes appeared at the upper wall of the follicles .At 15 h after the beginning of ovulation ,the unovulated follicles whic were developing into follicular corpus luteam had normal blood micro-circulation,At 39 h after the beginning of ovulation most of the follicles began to degenerate,In was coneluded that there was a close relationship between blood micro-circulation of follicele and the ovulation.     

绵羊肌肉IGF-Ⅰ基因表达的发育性变化研究

[Objective] To detect the mRNA of muscle insulin-like growth factorⅠ (IGF-Ⅰ) in the early development of Kazak sheep and Xinjiang fine-wool sheep, so as to provide information for the research about the early growth and development of sheep. [Method] With real-time quantitative PCR, the muscle IGF-Ⅰ mRNA level was separately detected in two varieties of sheep at 2, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days old. Then the data was analyzed with SPSS software. [Result] The IGF-Ⅰ mRNA in sheep muscle first increased and then decreased with ages, peaking at 30 days old in Kazak sheep and at 60 days old in Xinjiang fine-wool sheep. The IGF-Ⅰ expression level of Kazak sheep had no significant difference with Xinjiang fine-wool sheep at 2 or 90 days old (P>0.05), but was lower than that of the latter with extremely significant difference (P<0.01) from 30 to 60 days old. [Conclusion] The male Kazak sheep and Xinjiang fine-wool sheep have similar model of developmental changes of muscular IGF-Ⅰ mRNA, but the expression level is different between these two species.     

Effect of sucrose on cryopreservation of pig spermatogonial stem cells

Sucrose is known to play an important role in the cryopreservation of sperm and female gonads; however, its effect on the cryopreservation of pig spermatogonial stem cells(p SSCs) has not been tested. The aim of this work was to study the effect of sucrose during p SSC cryopreservation and to find the most effective concentration in freezing medium. p SSCs were cryopreserved with freezing media containing different concentrations of sucrose(70, 140, 210, and 280 mmol L~(–1)) and a control group without sucrose. The survival rates, plasma membrane integrity, and mitochondrial membrane potential of thawed cells were detected by trypan blue(TB) staining, SYBR-14/propidium iodide(PI) dual staining, and JC-1 staining, respectively. All the staining results showed an obvious increase in cell survival in the sucrose-treated groups as compared to that in the control group, with the exception of 280 mmol L~(–1) sucrose. Moreover, the 210 mmol L~(–1) sucrose group yielded the highest survival rate among all the groups(P0.05). The results of SYBR-14/PI dual staining and JC-1 staining were consistent with those of TB staining as above described. Quantitative real-time PCR(q RT-PCR) indicated that the m RNA levels of three apoptosis-promoting genes(BAX, APAF1 and CASPASE9) were significantly higher in thawed cells than in cells before freezing(P0.05). Moreover, the mR NA level of one anti-apoptotic gene(XIAP) was significantly lower in thawed cells than in cells before freezing(P0.05). When comparing the m RNA expression of apoptosis-related genes in thawed cells, the m RNA level of the anti-apoptotic genes in the control group was significantly lower than that in the sucrose-treated groups(P0.05). Western blot analyses showed that the expression levels of cleaved CASPASE9, CASPASE3 and PARP-1 in the sucrose-treated groups were lower than those in the control group and were the lowest in the 210 mmol L~(–1) sucrose group. Both q RT-PCR and Western blot analyses suggested that sucrose inhibited cell apoptosis during freezing and thawing. Briefly, sucrose promoted p SSCs survival after freezing and thawing, especially at a concentration of 210 mmol L~(–1), which possibly assisted p SSC dehydration and inhibited cell apoptosis. These findings hold great promise for further studies of the regulatory mechanism of proliferation and differentiation of p SSCs.     

Accumulation and Gene Expression of Anthocyanin in Storage Roots of Purple- Freshed Sweet Potato [Ipomoea batatas （L.） Lam] Under Weak Light Conditions

Anthocyanidin in plants, an important pigment, is of great interest to researchers, consumers, and commercial entities due to its physiological functions. Anthocyanin content and mRNA levels of anthocynin biosynthesis genes were investigated in storage root of different purple-fleshed sweet potatoes （PFSP） genotypes to understand the regulation mechanism of anthocyanin under weak light conditions. Anthocyanin content, its amount of accumulation, and the expression of CHS, DFR, F3H, GT, and ANS genes in the PFSP storage root under weak light conditions were studied. The results demonstrated that the anthocyanin content of the treatments was decreased and was obviously lower than that of the control until 30 days after shading in Ayamurasaki, while it was lower than that of the control from the beginning of shading in Jishu 18. Their accumulation rates of both treatmeants were lower than its control before 10-20 d of shading in Jishu 18, while those of Ayamurasaki weren＇t in their treatments. This indicated that Jishul 8 is more sensitive to light as compared to Ayamuraska. Under the different weak light conditions, mRNA levels for ibCHS, ibF3H, ibDFR, and ibANS were obviously decreased, while the expression of ibGT was increased. These results indicated that anthocyanin content was regulated by light at the mRNA levels and the enzymatic level in sweet potato. Therefore, the development dynamic response to anthocyanin content varied in different genotypes of PFSP, and mRNA levels of anthocyanin biosynthesis were inhibited under the weak light condition.     

Response of Cytochrome P450 Expression to Maize Volatiles in Helicoverpa armigera (Hner)

The 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase (ECOD) activities of cytochrome P450s and differential expression of six cytochrome P450 genes induced by the volatiles from both damaged and undamaged maize plants were investigated in the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hner). The ECOD activity changed with time of exposure to maize volatiles. At 36 h after cotton bollworm larvae exposure to maize volatiles, the ECOD activities in cotton bollworm damaged and artificially damaged groups were 2.36 and 4.53 times higher than the control group respectively. The relative expression levels of CYP4S1, CYP6B2 and CYP6B7 in the cotton bollworm were significantly increased in artificially damaged plant group, which was 2.93, 5.09 and 10.66 times higher than that in the control group, respectively. The expression levels of CYP6B2, CYP6B6, CYP9A12, and CYP9A14 were much lower in the larvae exposure to volatiles from both healthy and pest damaged maize seedlings than in the control group at 12 h after larvae exposure to maize volatiles. For the cotton bollworm damaged maize group, the expression of CYP4S1 and CYP9A14 increased.     

Morphological and Hormonal Identification of Porcine Atretic Follicles and Relationship Analysis of Hormone Receptor Levels During Granulosa Cell Apoptosis In vivo

Recent reports have demonstrated that follicular atresia is initiated or caused by granulosa cell apoptosis followed by theca cell degeneration in mammalian ovaries, but the mechanism of follicular atresia is still to be elucidated. Therefore, our present study was designed to examine our hypothesis that the changes of follicular microenvironment induce the granulosa cell apoptosis during pocrine follicular atresia in vivo. We firstly isolated intact porcine antral follicles and identified them into three groups, healthy follicles （HF）, early atretic follicles （EAF） and progressed atretic follicles （PAF） through morphology and histology. To further confirm their status, we detected hormone levels in follicular fluids and the expression level of apoptosis gene Bax in granulosa cells. The rate of progesterone （P） and estradiol （E2） was increased with the expression of Bax, indicating hormone can be used as a marker of granulosa cell apoptosis or follicular atresia. Finally, we analyzed the expression level of hormone receptor genes in granulosa cells and their relationship with follicular atresia. In PAF, the expression of Progesterone receptor （PGR） was increased significantly while estradiol receptor （ER） had no notable changes, which suggesting the increased-PGR accelerated the effect of P-stimulated granulosa cell apoptosis. The dramatic increasing of androgen receptor （AR） expression in PAF and the obvious increase of tumor necrosis factor-u receptor （TNFR） in EAF indicated that there are different pathways regulating granulosa cell apoptosis during follicular atresia. Together, our results suggested that different pathways of granulosa cell apoptosis was induced by changing the follicular microenvironment during follicular atresia.     

Relationships Between Icariin and Anti-Apoptotic miRNA-21 in Mouse Blastocyst Development In vitro

In this study, the effect of icariin, a flavonoid from the Chinese traditional medicine epimedium, on miRNA-21 of mouse developmental blastocysts in vitro and the development of preimplantation embryos were studied. The possible effective targets of icariin promoting preimplantation embryo development in vitro and anti-apoptosis were determined. The embryos were cultured in modified CZB medium (mCZB) as control group. The experimental group (Ica group) was supplemented with 0.6μmL-1 icariin. Mouse pronuclear embryos were cultured in vitro until blastocysts. The development rates of preimplantation embryos were observed. The total cell number, apoptotic cell number and the rate of apoptotic cells in blastocysts were analysed by the staining of Hoechst33342 and labeling of TUNEL and detected under a laser confocal scanning microscope. The miRNA-21 expression, the mRNA levels of pro-apoptotic Caspase3, and the target genes of miRNA-21: pro-apoptotic PTEN, anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 were detected by real-time RT-PCR. The results showed that percentages of morulaes and blastocysts in Ica group were both extremely higher than control group ((85.14?.57)% vs. (72.04?1.58)%; (82.50?.11)% vs. (66.80?1.70)%, respectively, P<0.01). The total cell number of blastocysts had extreme difference between Ica group and control group ((61.40?.64) vs. (46.23?.50), P<0.01). The apoptotic cell number and rate of apoptotic cells of blastocysts were both reduced in Ica group ((1.47?.51) vs. (2.94?.66); (2.40?.27)% vs. (6.25?.62)%, respectively, P<0.01). Compared to control group, addition of icariin into mCZB extremely increased the expression of anti-apoptotic miRNA-21 (P<0.01), down-regulated pro-apoptotic Caspase3 (P<0.05) and PTEN (P<0.01), up-regulated anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 (P<0.01). In conclusion, icariin could reduce the apoptosis, promote the embryo development in vitro by enhancing miRNA-21 expression to up-regulated anti-apoptotic genes and down-regulated pro-apoptotic genes. These apoptosis-related genes were regulated by miRNA-21.     

Genome Array on Differentially Expressed Genes of Skin Tissue in Cashmere Goat at Early Anagen of Cashmere Growth Cycle Using DNA Microarray

In order to study the molecular mechanism involved in cashmere regeneration, this study investigated the gene expression profile of skin tissue at various stages of the cashmere growth cycle and screen differentially expressed genes at proangen in 10 cashmere goats at 2 years of age using agilent sheep oligo microarray. Significance analysis of microarray （SAM） methods was used to identify the differentially expressed genes, Hierarchical clustering was performed to clarify these genes in association with different cashmere growth stages, and GO （Gene ontology） and the pathway analyses were con-ducted by a free web-based Molecular Annotation System3.0 （MAS 3.0）. Approximately 10200 probe sets were detected in skin tissue of 2-yr-old cashmere goat. After SAM analysis of the microarray data, totally 417 genes were shown to be differentially expressed at different cashmere growth stages, and 24 genes are significantly up-regulated （21） or down-regulated （3） at proangen concurrently compared to angen and telogen. Hierarchical clustering analysis clearly distinguished the differentially expressed genes of each stage. GO analysis indicated that these altered genes at proangen were predominantly involved in collagen fibril organization, integrin-mediated signaling pathway, cell-matrix adhesion, cell adhesion, transforming growth factor-β （TGF-β） receptor signaling pathway, regulation of cell growth. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes （KEGG） analysis showed that the significant pathways involved mainly included focal adhesion and extracellular matrixc （ECM）-receptor interaction. Some important genes involved in these biological processes, such as COL1A1, COL1A2, COL3A1, SPARC, CYR61 and CTGF, were related to tissue remolding and repairing and detected by more than one probe with similar expression trends at different stages of cashmere growth cycle. The different expression of these genes may contribute to understanding the molecular mechanism of cashmere regeneration.     

Uterine Expression of WNT7A and β-catenin After Induction of Oestrus in Sheep

WNT7A and β-catenin localisations and roles in regulating periimplantation ovine conceptus development under natural estrous conditions have been elaborated.However,their locations and expression patterns have not been reported under induction of oestrus.The localisation,expression and function of WNT7A and β-catenin in the uterine tissues of the early pregnant and non-pregnant sheep on days 10,12,14,16 and 18 following artificial induction of oestrus were investigated by means of in situ hybridisation,real-time RT-PCR,immuno-histochemistry and western blotting methods.WNT7A and β-catenin mRNA and protein were both restricted to the apical surfaces of the uterine luminal epithelium (LE) and glandular epithelium (GE).In pregnant sheep,protein localisation of WNT7A and β-catenin was observed both in the endometrial LE and GE.Their staining presented on day 10,increased between day 12 and day 16,and decreased on day 18.WNT7A and β-catenin mRNA and protein expression increased initially and then decreased from day 10 to day 18,peaking on day 16,and β-catenin reaching a peak on day 18 in the uterine tissues of pregnant sheep (p0.05).By contrast,no significant changes in WNT7A and β-catenin mRNA and protein expression levels were observed from day 10 to day 18 of the oestrus cycle in the uterine tissues of non-pregnant sheep (p0.05).Additionally,WNT7A and β-catenin mRNA and protein expression levels in the uterine tissues of the early pregnant sheep were significantly higher than those of non-pregnant sheep (p0.05).Treatment of endometrial epithelial cells with WNT7A increased the mRNA expressions of β-catenin,c-myc and Cyclin D1.These results provided an underlying mechanism of periimplantation ovine conceptus development under induction of oestrus.