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Cloning, Developmental Expression, and Immunohistochemistry of Cyclooxygenase 2 in the Endometrium during Embryo Implantation and Gestation in the Mink (Mustela vison)¹

Centre de Recherche en Reproduction Animale, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, St-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada J2S 7C6

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Bruce D. Murphy, Centre de Recherche en Reproduction Animale, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, 3200 rue Sicotte, St-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada J2S 7C6. E-mail: murphyb{at}medvet.umontreal.ca

Cyclooxygenase (COX) is the first rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of PGs. There are two isoforms, COX-1, a constitutive enzyme and COX-2, the induced form, products of two different genes. In this study, we report COX-2 complementary DNA cloning, uterine expression, and immunohistochemical localization in the mink uterus during postimplantation gestation. The open reading frame of mink COX-2 contains 1812 nucleotides encoding 604 amino acids. The homologies are 86%, 83%, 83%, 83%, 85%, and 84% in nucleotides and 86%, 87%, 87%, 85%, 86%, and 88% in amino acids with human, mouse, rat, guinea pig, sheep, and rabbit, respectively. All domains associated with biological activity are conserved in the mink. Northern analysis revealed a transcript of 4.2 kb for COX-2 in mink uterus and adrenal. Semiquantitative RT-PCR showed that COX-2 messenger RNA is not present during diapause. The abundance of COX-2 messenger RNA reached its maxima (P < 0.05) on days 3–5 of postimplantation, gradually decreased through day 9, and was not present thereafter. By immunohistochemistry, COX-2 was present in uterine epithelium, stroma, and necks of endometrial glands at sites of implantation. COX-2 expression appears to be induced in the endometrium by the embryo and may play a role in implantation and placentation in the mink.

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