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Treatment with eCG Decreases the Vascular Density and Increases the Glandular Density of the Bovine Uterus
Author(s) -
Mona e Pinto J,
Pavanelo V,
Alves de Fátima L,
Medeiros de Carvalho Sousa LM,
Pacheco Mendes G,
Machado Ferreira R,
Ayres H,
Sampaio Baruselli P,
Palma Rennó F,
Carvallo Papa P
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
reproduction in domestic animals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.546
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1439-0531
pISSN - 0936-6768
DOI - 10.1111/rda.12307
Subject(s) - follicular phase , uterus , ovulation , endometrium , myometrium , biology , insemination , uterine artery , andrology , endocrinology , medicine , pregnancy , hormone , gestation , genetics , sperm
Contents The uterus plays an essential role in mammalian reproduction and is a target of several hormonal protocols used to improve fertility in cattle. Many studies highlighted the importance of e CG treatment following fixed‐time artificial insemination in improving follicular growth, ovulation and pregnancy rates in cattle. Moreover, e CG has been implicated in angiogenesis, leading to important changes in uterine blood flow and vascularisation. However, there is still a lack of information regarding the specific alterations induced by e CG upon glandular and vascular characteristics of bovine uterus. To investigate the influence of e CG on: uterine thickness and area; uterine artery diameter and area; uterine vascular and gland density; and the expression of the VEGFA ‐system, the uteri of crossbred beef cows were collected. All cows were submitted to follicular wave emergence synchronization. On day four of protocol, cows submitted to superovulation (n = 6) received 2000 IU e CG , on day eight, after expected follicular deviation, cows submitted to stimulatory treatment (n = 5) received 400 IU e CG . Control cows (n = 5) did not receive e CG . On day five po cows were subjected to ultrassonographic evaluation and slaughtered for uterine tissue sampling on day six po. Uterine vessels and glands were quantified by the counting point stereological method. The VEGFA ‐system was localized in different cellular types, showing no qualitative or quantitative differences in the site of expression or the intensity of the positive signal among the groups. Vascular density was decreased in the endometrium of stimulated and myometrium of superovulated cows compared with the control ones, which showed higher vascular density in the myometrium and endometrium of the ipsilateral uterine horn. The uterine gland density was higher in superovulated compared with stimulated and control cows. Thus, we can infer that stimulatory or superovulatory treatments with e CG influence the vascular density in the endometrium and myometrium in cattle.