Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University Veterinary Research Forum 2008-8140 7 3 2016 09 01 Expression of pluripotent stem cell markers in mouse uterine tissue during estrous cycle 181 188 21611 EN Kolsum Choobineh Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran Saeed Zavareh Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran Institute of Biological Sciences, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran Mojdeh Salehnia Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran Mohamad Taghi Ghorbanian Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran Institute of Biological Sciences, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran Seyed Hassan Paylakhi Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran Institute of Biological Sciences, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran Journal Article 2016 09 02 It was assumed that uterine stem cells are responsible for the unique regenerative capacity of uterine. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of the pluripotent stem cell markers in the mice uterine tissue during different stages of estrous cycles. Twelve virgin female NMRI mice (6 to 8 weeks old) were considered at proestrus, estrus, metestrus and diestrus according to the cell types observed in the vaginal smear and underwent hysterectomy operation. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunohistochemical staining for pluripotent stem cell markers (SOX2, OCT4, KLF4, and NANOG) were performed. Immunofluorescence staining revealed that expression and localization of the pluripotency markers SOX2, OCT4, KLF4, and NANOG at the protein level were not different throughout estrous cycle. Also, mRNA of pluripotency markers was detected in all tested samples. However, there were no significant differences in their genes expression at each stage and during the estrous cycle. Different hormonal profile during the estrous cycle could not affect expression of pluripotent stem cell markers in uterine tissue. https://vrf.iranjournals.ir/article_21611_934307c5f6de137954bb0b5d7f18fa30.pdf