Immunogold localization of placental lactogen and the SBU-3 antigen by cryoultramicrotomy at implantation in the sheep

In the sheep, granulated trophectodermal binucleate cells (BNC) appear at implantation 16 days post coitum (dpc) and persist throughout pregnancy. Conventional immunocytochemical techniques at both light and electron microscope levels have indicated the presence of the ovine placental lactogen (oPL) hormone in the granules but no earlier than 22 dpc, when the level was very low. Immunofluorescent studies using glycolmethacrylate sections between 15 and 55 dpc suggest a completely different distribution of oPL restricted to uninucleate cells with none in the BNC. Using the most sensitive method available, immunocytochemistry on ultrathin frozen sections, the results in this paper demonstrate that BNC granules contain oPL at their earliest appearance (16–17 dpc). No significant localization was found in any uninucleate cell. In contrast, another molecule, the SBU-3 antigen, which is demonstrated in BNC granules later in pregnancy, is not present at the earliest stages but appears between 24 and 28 dpc coincident with the development of the foetal cotyledonary villi. The significance of these results for BNC function are discussed briefly.