Differences in bovine placentome blood vessel density and transcriptomics in a mid to late-gestating maternal nutrient restriction model

Abstract

Introduction: Prenatal development is reliant on a functioning placenta, which can be influenced by maternal nutrition. Moreover, the variation in cotyledonary capacity within an animal has not been fully examined to date. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of (1) placentome size and (2) maternal nutrient restriction on molecular, microscopic, and macroscopic features of bovine placentomes during late gestation.

Methods: Pregnant cows (n = 6) were placed into one of 2 treatments: CON (100% NRC) vs RES (60% of NRC) from day 140 until slaughter at day 240 of gestation. Placentomes of various sizes were perfused to assess macroscopic blood vessel density of the cotyledon. Microscopic imaging and RNA extraction for sequencing was performed.

Results: Macroscopic blood vessel density relative to placentome weight was not different (P = 0.42) among small, medium, or large placentomes. Cotyledonary microscopic blood vessel number, area, and perimeter was increased (P < 0.005) in high versus low blood perfusion areas. Differential expressed gene (DEG) analysis showed 209 upregulations and 168 downregulations in the RES group (P ≤ 0.0001). Gene Ontology (GO) analysis showed that downregulated enriched terms were involved in blood vessel and mesenchymal stem cells development, whereas upregulated enriched terms were involved with translation and ribosomal function.

Discussion: This study demonstrates that placentome function is uniform across various placentome sizes within an animal. However, microscopic heterogeneity exists within each placentome. Maternal nutrient constraints alter placental transcriptomics which may yield compensatory mechanisms involved in nutrient transport including increased perimeter.

Keywords: Bovine; Cotyledon; Nutrient restriction; Placentome; Vascularity.