Successful development of the conceptus and implantation requires an intimate trophic connection between maternal uterus and conceptus mediated by local regulators including growth factors. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) acts as a chemotactic factor for a variety of cell types. Current studies have determined that PDGF participates in rapid growth and development of cleavage stage embryos, but PDGF-induced effects on the growth and development of pen-implantation conceptus remains unknown. In the present study, PDGF induced phosphorylation of ERK1/2, ART and RPS6 proteins in porcine trophectoderm (pTr) cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Addition of U0126 (an inhibitor of ERK1/2) or LY294002 (a PI3K inhibitor) blocked PDGF-induced effects on phosphorylation of signaling proteins. Combinations of PDGF and U0126 decreased PDGF-induced p-ERK1/2 and p-AKT1, but combinations of PDGF and LY294002 blocked only PDGF-induced ART phosphorylation. Furthermore, PDGF significantly induced pTr cell migration and these stimulatory effects were blocked by U0126 and LY294002. Immunoreactive p-ERK1/2 and p-RPS6 proteins were abundant in pTr cells treated with PDGF, but U0126 reduced PDGF-induced p-ERK1/2 and p-RPS6 levels to basal amounts. Present study suggests that PDGF secreted into the maternal-conceptus microenvironment stimulates pTr cell migration through signal transduction cascades mediated by the ERK1/2 MAPK and AKT1 pathways. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.