Figure 1

OPN is synthesized and secreted from the luminal epithelium (LE) only at sites of direct attachment of uterus to placenta. A) H&E stained paraffin embedded thin section of the uterine/placental interface of a Day 80 pregnant gilt illustrating an areola containing histotroph (note the intense red eosin protein staining) secreted by the glandular epithelium (GE). B) OPN mRNA (top panels) and protein (bottom panels) is expressed in the uterus of a Day 80 pregnant gilt (expression begins in luminal epithelium (LE) on Day 13, in GE by Day 35, and then in both cell types to term). Note that OPN is not detectable in uterine LE associated with areolae where there is no direct attachment of uterine LE to placental trophectoderm/chorion). This precise spatial distribution for OPN expression strongly suggests that it plays a role for attaching uterus to placenta during epitheliochorial placentation.