Energy balance and hippo effector activity in endometrium and corpus luteum of early pregnant ewes

Context. The establishment of pregnancy in cows requires uterine activity regulation of the main Hippo signalling effector yes-associated protein 1 (YAP). It remains unknown (1) how YAP activity at the corpus luteum (CL) correlates with early pregnancy-related events in ruminants; and (2) if YAP activity in the uterus and CL can be affected by metabolic disorders that may lead to pregnancy failure in ruminants. Aims and methods. To determine the effect of early pregnancy on total and phospho-YAP expression and its transcriptional activity in the CL, we compared nonpregnant vs pregnant ewes. To understand the YAP activity dysregulation with disorders that may result in pregnancy loss, we induced negative energy balance in pregnant ewes. Key results and conclusions. Our main results indicate that early pregnancy alters the expression and activity patterns of YAP in the ovine CL but not in the endometrium. In addition, while our NEB-induced model fails to alter YAP activity at the endometrium level, we found that fasting during the first but not second week of pregnancy affects YAP activity in the CL of pregnant ewes. Implications. The data presented herein provide considerable insight into the activity of a signalling pathway that may be a key player in pregnancy recognition and establishment in ewes.