Figure 4

Expression, regulation and proposed function of OPN produced by the uterine GE of pregnant sheep. A) As the lifespan of the CL is extended as the result of the actions of interferon tau secretion from elongating ovine conceptuses (Trophoblast) they secrete progesterone. Progesterone then induces the synthesis and secretion of OPN (Osteopontin) from the uterine GE (Glandular Epithelium)[51]. The implantation cascade is initiated with down-regulation Muc 1 (the regulatory mechanism remains to be identified) on the LE surface to expose integrins on the LE and trophoblast surfaces for interaction with OPN to mediate adhesion of trophoblast to LE for implantation[29, 51, 52, 66]. B) In vitro experiments have identified the αvβ3 integrin receptor on trophoblast as a binding partner for OPN[66]. OPN then likely acts as a bridging ligand between αvβ3 on trophoblast and as yet unidentified integrin receptor(s) expressed on the opposing uterine LE. Note that the α5 integrin subunit was immunoprecipitated from membrane extracts of biotinylated oTr1 cells that were eluted from an OPN-Sepharose column, but the β1 integrin subunit, the only known binding partner for α5, could not be immunoprecipitated. Therefore, while we cannot definitively state that OPN binds α5β1 integrin on oTr1, we are reticent to exclude this possibility.