Maternal Recognition of Pregnancy in Horses

The mechanism for maternal recognition of pregnancy remains unknown. This project will focus on the interaction between the early equine embryo and the mare's endometrium. It is well established that prostaglandin production by the equine endometrium must be altered to avoid luteolysis and this progesterone production. Likewise, it is understood that embryo contact along at least 80% of the surface of the endometrium results in the aforementioned prostaglandin production decrease. What remains elusive is the manner in which the embryo conducts this signal at the cellular and molecular level. We hypothesize that this process is triggered through mechanosensational and mechanotransductional actions of the focal adhesion molecules located within the equine endometrium.