Expression Galectins in Sheep Blood during the Periparturient Period

In this study, galectin gene expression in pre and post-partum was evaluated in blood. St. Croix sheep are a breed of hair sheep that are parasite resistant and prolific so are of interest for production. Immunosuppression during the periparturient period occurs in every organ in the sheep’s body to enable the ewe support fetal growth and prevent abortion. During this time, sheep become susceptible to diseases and parasite infection. They rely on the effectiveness of their immune system to fight off invading parasites and diseases. Galectins are a family of lectins that have been proposed to promote intra and intercellular communication impacting immunity. Blood was collected from six (6) pregnant ewes aseptically into Paxgene tubes one-week before and one-week after lambing. Body weight, Famacha and body condition score were collected to ensure they were in good health. Total RNA was isolated from the whole blood and converted into cDNA. Real-time PCR was performed using pooled cDNA samples with eight (8) different galectin primers (Gal 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 12, 15 and 16) and B-actin primer served as control. All the galectins were expressed pre and post-partum except for Gal 2 which was absent pre-partum but expressed post-partum. Although all were expressed after lambing, Gal 3,4 and 16 had a significant fold change increase with Gal 16 being the highest with a fold change of 4. Periparturient changes in galectin expression may be useful indicator of animal health and welfare and should be characterized further.