Abstract #T316

# T316
Stem cell factor (SCF) activates AKT-p70RSK-S6 signaling in porcine trophoblast cells.
Yurina Choi*1, Wooyoung Jeong1, Heejo Bang1, Yujin Sung1, Jinyoung Kim1, 1Dankook University, Cheonan, Korea.

During early pregnancy, a well-coordinated network between the conceptus and maternal uterus is especially crucial in pigs which involve a prolonged pre-attachment phase. This network is regulated by an astonishing amount of molecules such as growth factors. SCF (Stem Cell Factor) is a multipotent growth factor that elicits diverse biological actions on various types of tissues. In pig, SCF and their receptors are expressed in the uterine endometrium and conceptus during early pregnancy, but little is known about the biological role of SCF in the conceptus. Therefore, the aim of present study was to access SCF-induced intracellular signaling and cellular activities in porcine trophectoderm (pTr) cells. The effects of SCF were studied using pTr cells isolated from Day 12 pig conceptuses. Abundance of phosphorylated (p)-proteins relative to total proteins were determined by Western blot analyses of whole cell extracts 3 times and subjected to least squares using SAS software. In vitro cultured pTr cells were incubated with different concentrations of recombinant SCF (0–50 ng/mL). SCF dose dependently increased AKT phosphorylation, reaching 3.3-fold at 20 ng/mL. Within 30 min after 20 ng/mL of SCF treatment, levels of p-AKT, p-p70RSK and p-S6 proteins increased by 3.0-, 3.1- and 4.0-fold, respectively, and then returned to basal levels by 120 min. To ensure stimulatory effect of SCF on AKT signaling, cells were pre-incubated with AKT blocker (LY294002) 1 h before SCF treatment. Twenty µM of LY294002 decreased SCF-induced p-AKT, p-p70RSK and p-S6 proteins. Also immunofluorescence analyses found that p-S6 were localized abundantly within the cytoplasm of SCF-treated cells, but p-S6 was present at basal levels in the presence of LY294002. Furthermore, SCF increased pTr cell migration by 200%, but LY294002 significantly reduced this stimulatory effect to basal level. In conclusion, results of the present study suggest that SCF activates migration of trophectoderm through AKT signaling and supports the hypothesis that SCF is a critical regulatory factor of conceptus development during early pregnancy in pigs.

Key Words: SCF, early pregnancy, trophectoderm