Expression of genes stimulated by interferon-tau in the vaginal mucosa cells as a new alternative for early pregnancy diagnosis in cattle

Abstract

The identification of the gestational state earlier than the current methods performed around the 30th day after insemination allows a reduction in the interval of inseminations, which may result in shorter period for conception and greater profitability to the system of Livestock production. The central thesis of the project is that genes stimulated by interferon-tau (ISGS) and by the presence of the conceptus are detectable at the beginning of gestation in cells of the vaginal mucosa. This may allow the development of an early and innovative method of pregnancy diagnosis in cattle. Thus, the main objective is to define the expression pattern of 2 main isgs (ISG15 and OAS1) throughout the gestational period and to correlate this methodology with the expression of isgs in peripheral blood cells and with ultrasonography in Doppler as forms of early diagnosis of gestation. For this, in experiment 1 the expression profile of ISGS will be defined by collecting cytology samples.