Early transcriptome responses of the bovine midcycle corpus luteum to prostaglandin F2α includes cytokine signaling

In ruminants, prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2 alpha)-mediated luteolysis is essential prior to estrous cycle resumption, and is a target for improving fertility. To deduce early PGF2 alpha-provoked changes in the corpus luteum a short time-course (0.5-4 h) was performed on cows at midcycle. A microarray-determined transcriptome was established and examined by bioinformatic pathway analysis. Classic PGF2 alpha effects were evident by changes in early response genes (FOS, JUN, ATF3) and prediction of active pathways (PKC, MAPK). Several cytolcine transcripts were elevated and NF-kappa B and STAT activation were predicted by pathway analysis. Self-organizing map analysis grouped differentially expressed transcripts into ten mRNA expression patterns indicative of temporal signaling cascades. Comparison with two analogous datasets revealed a conserved group of 124 transcripts similarly altered by PGF2 alpha treatment, which both, directly and indirectly, indicated cytokine activation. Elevated levels of cytokine transcripts after PGF2 alpha and predicted activation of cytokine pathways implicate inflammatory reactions early in PGF2 alpha-mediated luteolysis. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.