Fibronectin receptors in preimplantation development: cloning, expression, and localization of the alpha 5 and beta 1 integrin subunits in bovine trophoblast.

The fibronectin receptor, alpha 5 beta 1, may be involved in many aspects of early development, including migration of endodermal and mesodermal cells during formation of the placenta, trophoblastic outgrowth in culture, and development of an invasive phenotype by fetal cytotrophoblasts. In contrast to the human blastocyst, the bovine blastocyst elongates in the uterine lumen for several days until it begins attachment, and the fetal trophoblast limits its invasion to the maternal epithelium. Fibronectin receptor expression was characterized in bovine embryos before and after their attachment to the uterus. Initially, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted with degenerate oligonucleotide primers to isolate bovine cDNAs for the alpha 5 and beta 1 subunits. Bovine-specific primers were then constructed to assay for alpha 5 and beta 1 mRNA expression in embryo RNA during the morula through the attachment stages using reverse-transcriptase PCR. Northern blot analysis was used to quantify mRNA levels from Days 15 to 21. Integrin and fibronectin protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemical examination of embryo sections. Both alpha 5 and beta 1 subunit mRNAs were expressed throughout the stages examined. Expression of both subunit proteins was found in the endoderm at Day 14 but not at Day 18 or later. Fibronectin reactivity was not present at any of the stages examined. Between Days 18 and 21, beta 1-reactivity appeared on the lateral surfaces of the trophoblast cells. Day 24 trophoblast binucleate cells showed intense staining with the beta 1 antibody, suggesting that a beta 1-integrin is involved in binucleate cell migration.