Sequence and expression of the FcRn in the porcine mammary gland

Transport of immunoglobulin G across epithelial cell barriers is thought to occur by a system involving the Fcγ receptor called the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn). The FcRn may also play a role in IgG transport in the mammary gland. To determine the presence of FcRn in the porcine mammary gland, biopsies were taken from glands 3 days prepartum and on the day of farrowing. The full length porcine FcRn cDNA sequence was obtained by rapid amplification of cDNA ends and determined to be 1557 base pairs in length that codes for a 359 amino acid peptide. Expression of FcRn mRNA in the porcine mammary gland was determined by reverse transcriptase-PCR and revealed that the mRNA is present prepartum and on the day of farrowing. These results indicate that the FcRn is expressed in porcine mammary tissue and are consistent with the hypothesis that FcRn may have a role in mammary gland immunoglobulin transport during colostrogenesis.