scholarly journals Contribution of the immune system to follicle differentiation, ovulation and early corpus luteum formation

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 440-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noof Abdulrahman ◽  
Trudee Fair
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Corpus Luteum ◽  
Follicle Differentiation

scholarly journals Gene expression profiling ofcorpus luteumreveals the importance of immune system during early pregnancy in domestic sheep

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kisun Pokharel ◽  
Jaana Peippo ◽  
Melak Weldenegodguad ◽  
Mervi Honkatukia ◽  
Meng-Hua Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Corpus Luteum ◽  
Differentially Expressed Genes ◽  
Early Pregnancy ◽  
Embryo Implantation ◽  
Differentially Expressed ◽  
Domestic Sheep ◽  
Preimplantation Stage ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Immune System Regulation

AbstractThe majority of pregnancy loss in ruminants occurs during the preimplantation stage, which is thus the most critical period determining reproductive success. While ovulation rate is the major determinant of litter size in sheep, interactions among the conceptus,corpus luteumand endometrium are essential for pregnancy success. Here, we performed a comparative transcriptome study by sequencing total mRNA from corpus luteum (CL) collected during the preimplantation stage of pregnancy in Finnsheep, Texel and F1 crosses, and mapping the RNA-Seq reads to the latest Rambouillet reference genome. A total of 21,287 genes were expressed in our dataset. Highly expressed autosomal genes in the CL were associated with biological processes such as progesterone formation (STAR, CYP11A1, andHSD3B1) and embryo implantation (eg.TIMP1, TIMP2andTCTP). Among the list of differentially expressed genes, a group of sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin (Ig)-like lectins (Siglecs), solute carriers (SLC13A5, SLC15A2, SLC44A5) and chemokines (CCL5, CXCL13, CXCL9) were upregulated in Finnsheep, while four multidrug resistance-associated proteins (MRPs) were upregulated in Texel ewes. A total of 17 genes and two non-coding RNAs (ncRNA) were differentially expressed in breed-wise comparisons owing to flushing diet effect. Moreover, we report, for the first time in any species, several genes that are active in the CL during early pregnancy (includingSIGLEC13, SIGLEC14, SIGLEC6, MRP4, andCA5A). Importantly, functional analysis of differentially expressed genes suggested that Finnsheep have a better immune system than Texel and that high prolificacy in Finnsheep might be governed by immune system regulation.

Learned Placebo Effects in the Immune System

2014 ◽  
Vol 222 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Vits ◽  
Manfred Schedlowski
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Associative Learning ◽  
Placebo Response ◽  
Immunosuppressive Drug ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Placebo Effects ◽  
New Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Biological Variables ◽  
Experimental Approaches

Associative learning processes are one of the major neuropsychological mechanisms steering the placebo response in different physiological systems and end organ functions. Learned placebo effects on immune functions are based on the bidirectional communication between the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral immune system. Based on this “hardware,” experimental evidence in animals and humans showed that humoral and cellular immune functions can be affected by behavioral conditioning processes. We will first highlight and summarize data documenting the variety of experimental approaches conditioning protocols employed, affecting different immunological functions by associative learning. Taking a well-established paradigm employing a conditioned taste aversion model in rats with the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine A (CsA) as an unconditioned stimulus (US) as an example, we will then summarize the efferent and afferent communication pathways as well as central processes activated during a learned immunosuppression. In addition, the potential clinical relevance of learned placebo effects on the outcome of immune-related diseases has been demonstrated in a number of different clinical conditions in rodents. More importantly, the learned immunosuppression is not restricted to experimental animals but can be also induced in humans. These data so far show that (i) behavioral conditioned immunosuppression is not limited to a single event but can be reproduced over time, (ii) immunosuppression cannot be induced by mere expectation, (iii) psychological and biological variables can be identified as predictors for this learned immunosuppression. Together with experimental approaches employing a placebo-controlled dose reduction these data provide a basis for new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of diseases where a suppression of immune functions is required via modulation of nervous system-immune system communication by learned placebo effects.

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