E Kautz, A Gram, S Aslan, S S Ay, M Selçuk, H Kanca, E Koldaş, E Akal, K Karakaş, M Findik, A Boos, M P Kowalewski
Although there is no acute luteolytic mechanism in the absence of pregnancy in the bitch, a precise and well-timed embryo-maternal interaction seems to be required for the initiation and maintenance of gestation. As only limited information is available about these processes in dogs, in this study, the uterine expression of possible decidualization markers was investigated during the pre-implantation stage (days 10-12) of pregnancy and in the corresponding nonpregnant controls. In addition, the expression of selected genes associated with blastocyst development and/or implantation was investigated in embryos flushed from the uteri of bitches used for this study (unhatched and hatched blastocysts)...
May 2014: Reproduction