Journal
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY B-BIOCHEMICAL SYSTEMS AND ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY
Volume 177, Issue 8, Pages 935-943Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s00360-007-0192-1
Keywords
uterine epithelium; tight junction; occludin; skinks viviparity
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Occludin, an integral protein associated with the mammalian tight junction, has for the first time been identified in the uterus of squamate reptiles. The tight junction is made up of anastamosing strands and forms a selective barrier that regulates paracellular diffusion of solutes across uterine epithelium. Occludin exclusively labels tight junctional strands and is an excellent marker for tight junction permeability. Using western blotting and immunohistochemistry, occludin expression was examined in the uterine epithelium of five species of Australian skinks at different stages of gestation. More occludin was detected during late stage pregnancy/gravidity compared to the lower levels of occludin detected in vitellogenic and post-parturient females in three of the five species. We conclude that the paracellular permeability of the squamate uterine epithelium decreases as gestation progresses. As placental transport of ions and solutes to the embryo is highest during the last third of pregnancy in viviparous squamates, it is likely that a decrease in paracellular permeability is compensated by an upregulation of other transporting mechanisms such as histotrophy.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available