The process of luteal regression is tightly regulated by the immune system and chemokines-small cytokines responsible mostly for the activation and migration of immune cells. The role of chemokines in porcine corpus luteum (CL) function is still not well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression profile and distribution of CC chemokines in the porcine CL during the natural oestrous cycle and early pregnancy. Additionally, the effect of PGF2α on the expression of selected chemokines and their luteotropic and apoptotic influence on CL cells were studied in vitro. The expression levels of the chemokines CCL2, CCL4, and CCL5 and the chemokine receptor CCR5 were time-dependent (low on Days 8-10 and high on Days 12-14 of the oestrous cycle). Moreover, CCL8 and CCR2 transcript levels were also elevated during the period of luteolysis. The immunolocalization of CCL2, CCL4, CCL5, CCR1, CCR2 and CCR5 was determined using CL sections obtained from cycling and pregnant pigs. The immunofluorescence signals were localized mainly in luteal cells. PGF2α treatment of CL cells caused increased mRNA expression of CCL2 and CCR1. CCL2 treatment alone upregulated the expression of genes BAX, BCL2 and StAR in CL cells in vitro, but additional experiments showed that the chemokines CCL2, CCL4 and CCL5 alone do not cause apoptosis in a mixed population of CL cells. The chemokine CCL4 increased the transcript levels of StAR and HSD3-β1. Additionally, CCL5 led to the inhibition of BAX gene expression. The differential spatiotemporal expression of CCL2, CCL4, CCL5 and CCR5 throughout the oestrous cycle and the direct but aberrant effect of these three chemokines on genes associated with apoptosis and progesterone synthesis indicate the complicated involvement of these factors in the regulation of luteolysis in pigs.
Keywords: animal breeding; endocrinology; general reproduction; immunology; pigs; species.
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