Gene expression of BDNF and its receptors, TrkB and p75 in the uterus and oviduct of pregnant and non-pregnant ewes

To compare genes expression of BDNF and its receptors, TrkB and p75 between pregnant and non-pregnant uterine and oviductal tissues of ewes, semi-quantitative RT-PCR was performed. BDNF, TrkB and p75 genes are normally expressed in the ovine uterus and oviduct. The relative amounts of BDNF mRNA were increased in the uterine segments of the pregnant samples with compared to non-pregnant samples. This increasing was only significant (P < 0.05) in the inter-caruncle segment and in the cervix, which was not detectable in non-pregnant samples. In contrast, the relative amounts of BDNF mRNA were decreased in the oviductal segments of the pregnant samples and were undetectable in the isthmus. Variations of the relative amounts of TrkB and p75 mRNAs between the pregnant and non-pregnant samples were not significant (P > 0.05) although TrkB mRNA in the caruncle and cervix and p75 mRNA in the cervix of pregnant samples were too less to be detected by RT-PCR method. It is probably that these changes of BDNF/receptors genes expression are necessary for normal pregnancy, and abnormal variations in the expression of these genes may be involved in the pathophysiological conditions. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.