scholarly journals Expression of Immune Regulatory Genes in the Porcine Internal Genital Tract Is Differentially Triggered by Spermatozoa and Seminal Plasma

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Alvarez-Rodriguez ◽  
Mohammad Atikuzzaman ◽  
Heli Venhoranta ◽  
Dominic Wright ◽  
Heriberto Rodriguez-Martinez

Mating or cervical deposition of spermatozoa or seminal plasma (SP) modifies the expression of genes affecting local immune defense processes at the oviductal sperm reservoir in animals with internal fertilization, frequently by down-regulation. Such responses may occur alongside sperm transport to or even beyond the reservoir. Here, immune-related gene expression was explored with cDNA microarrays on porcine cervix-to-infundibulum tissues, pre-/peri-ovulation. Samples were collected 24 h post-mating or cervical deposition of sperm-peak spermatozoa or SP (from the sperm-peak fraction or the whole ejaculate). All treatments of this interventional study affected gene expression. The concerted action of spermatozoa and SP down-regulated chemokine and cytokine (P00031), interferon-gamma signaling (P00035), and JAK/STAT (P00038) pathways in segments up to the sperm reservoir (utero-tubal junction (UTJ)/isthmus). Spermatozoa in the vanguard sperm-peak fraction (P1-AI), uniquely displayed an up-regulatory effect on these pathways in the ampulla and infundibulum. Sperm-free SP, on the other hand, did not lead to major effects on gene expression, despite the clinical notion that SP mitigates reactivity by the female immune system after mating or artificial insemination.

Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaume Gardela ◽  
Amaia Jauregi-Miguel ◽  
Cristina A. Martinez ◽  
Heriberto Rodriguez-Martinez ◽  
Manel Lopez-Bejar ◽  
...  

Semen changes the gene expression in endometrial and oviductal tissues modulating important processes for reproduction. We tested the hypothesis that mating and/or sperm-free seminal plasma deposition in the reproductive tract affect the expression of genes associated with sperm-lining epithelium interactions, ovulation, and pre-implantation effects (nerve growth factor, NGF; α/β hydrolase domain-containing protein 2, ABHD2; C-terminal tensin-like protein, CTEN or TNS4; and versican, VCAN) in the period 10–72 h post-mating. In Experiment 1, does (n = 9) were treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) (control), GnRH-stimulated, and vaginally infused with sperm-free seminal plasma (SP-AI), or GnRH-stimulated and naturally mated (NM). In Experiment 2, does (n = 15) were GnRH-stimulated and naturally mated. Samples were retrieved from the internal reproductive tracts (cervix-to-infundibulum) 20 h post-treatment (Experiment 1) or sequentially collected at 10, 24, 36, 68, or 72 h post-mating (Experiment 2, 3 does/period). All samples were processed for gene expression analysis by quantitative PCR. Data showed an upregulation of endometrial CTEN and NGF by NM, but not by SP-AI. The findings suggest that the NGF gene affects the reproductive tract of the doe during ovulation and beyond, influencing the maternal environment during early embryonic development.


2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 669-676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Negri ◽  
Leonor Ramirez ◽  
Silvina Quintana ◽  
Nicolas Szawarski ◽  
Matías D. Maggi ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 4723
Author(s):  
Rosaria Scudiero ◽  
Chiara Maria Motta ◽  
Palma Simoniello

The cleidoic eggs of oviparous reptiles are protected from the external environment by membranes and a parchment shell permeable to water and dissolved molecules. As a consequence, not only physical but also chemical insults can reach the developing embryos, interfering with gene expression. This review provides information on the impact of the exposure to cadmium contamination or thermal stress on gene expression during the development of Italian wall lizards of the genus Podarcis. The results obtained by transcriptomic analysis, although not exhaustive, allowed to identify some stress-reactive genes and, consequently, the molecular pathways in which these genes are involved. Cadmium-responsive genes encode proteins involved in cellular protection, metabolism and proliferation, membrane trafficking, protein interactions, neuronal transmission and plasticity, immune response, and transcription regulatory factors. Cold stress changes the expression of genes involved in transcriptional/translational regulation and chromatin remodeling and inhibits the transcription of a histone methyltransferase with the probable consequence of modifying the epigenetic control of DNA. These findings provide transcriptome-level evidence of how terrestrial vertebrate embryos cope with stress, giving a key to use in population survival and environmental change studies. A better understanding of the genes contributing to stress tolerance in vertebrates would facilitate methodologies and applications aimed at improving resistance to unfavourable environments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Criado-Mesas ◽  
N. Abdelli ◽  
A. Noce ◽  
M. Farré ◽  
J. F. Pérez ◽  
...  

AbstractThere is a high interest on gut health in poultry with special focus on consequences of the intestinal diseases, such as coccidiosis and C. perfringens-induced necrotic enteritis (NE). We developed a custom gene expression panel, which could provide a snapshot of gene expression variation under challenging conditions. Ileum gene expression studies were performed through high throughput reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. A deep review on the bibliography was done and genes related to intestinal health were selected for barrier function, immune response, oxidation, digestive hormones, nutrient transport, and metabolism. The panel was firstly tested by using a nutritional/Clostridium perfringens model of intestinal barrier failure (induced using commercial reused litter and wheat-based diets without exogenous supplementation of enzymes) and the consistency of results was evaluated by another experiment under a coccidiosis challenge (orally gavaged with a commercial coccidiosis vaccine, 90× vaccine dose). Growth traits and intestinal morphological analysis were performed to check the gut barrier failure occurrence. Results of ileum gene expression showed a higher expression in genes involved in barrier function and nutrient transport in chickens raised in healthy conditions, while genes involved in immune response presented higher expression in C.perfringens-challenged birds. On the other hand, the Eimeria challenge also altered the expression of genes related to barrier function and metabolism, and increased the expression of genes related to immune response and oxidative stress. The panel developed in the current study gives us an overview of genes and pathways involved in broiler response to pathogen challenge. It also allows us to deep into the study of differences in gene expression pattern and magnitude of responses under either a coccidial vaccine or a NE.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tingting Li ◽  
Weigao Yuan ◽  
Shuai Qiu ◽  
Jisen Shi

AbstractThe differential expression of genes is crucial for plant somatic embryogenesis (SE), and the accurate quantification of gene expression levels relies on choosing appropriate reference genes. To select the most suitable reference genes for SE studies, 10 commonly used reference genes were examined in synchronized somatic embryogenic and subsequent germinative cultures of Liriodendron hybrids by using quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR. Four popular normalization algorithms: geNorm, NormFinder, Bestkeeper and Delta-Ct were used to select and validate the suitable reference genes. The results showed that elongation factor 1-gamma, histone H1 linker protein, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and α-tubulin were suitable for SE tissues, while elongation factor 1-gamma and actin were best for the germinative organ tissues. Our work will benefit future studies of gene expression and functional analyses of SE in Liriodendron hybrids. It is also serves as a guide of reference gene selection in early embryonic gene expression analyses for other woody plant species.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (28) ◽  
pp. 2050309
Author(s):  
Tao You ◽  
Hailun Zhang ◽  
Mingyu Yang ◽  
Xiao Wang ◽  
Yangming Guo

In biological systems, gene expression is an important subject. In order to clarify the specific process of gene expression, mathematical tools are needed to simulate the process. The Boolean network (BN) is a good mathematical tool. In this paper, we study a Boolean network with intermittent perturbations. This is of great significance for studying genetic mutations in bioengineering. The expression of genes in the internal system of a living being is a very complicated process, and it is clear that the process is trans-ageal for humans. Through the intermittent control and pulse control of the BN, we can obtain the trajectory of gene expression better and faster, which will provide a very important theoretical basis for our next research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa Maia ◽  
António E. N. Ferreira ◽  
Rui Nascimento ◽  
Filipa Monteiro ◽  
Francisco Traquete ◽  
...  

Abstract Vitis vinifera, one of the most cultivated fruit crops, is susceptible to several diseases particularly caused by fungus and oomycete pathogens. In contrast, other Vitis species (American, Asian) display different degrees of tolerance/resistance to these pathogens, being widely used in breeding programs to introgress resistance traits in elite V. vinifera cultivars. Secondary metabolites are important players in plant defence responses. Therefore, the characterization of the metabolic profiles associated with disease resistance and susceptibility traits in grapevine is a promising approach to identify trait-related biomarkers. In this work, the leaf metabolic composition of eleven Vitis genotypes was analysed using an untargeted metabolomics approach. A total of 190 putative metabolites were found to discriminate resistant/partial resistant from susceptible genotypes. The biological relevance of discriminative compounds was assessed by pathway analysis. Several compounds were selected as promising biomarkers and the expression of genes coding for enzymes associated with their metabolic pathways was analysed. Reference genes for these grapevine genotypes were established for normalisation of candidate gene expression. The leucoanthocyanidin reductase 2 gene (LAR2) presented a significant increase of expression in susceptible genotypes, in accordance with catechin accumulation in this analysis group. Up to our knowledge this is the first time that metabolic constitutive biomarkers are proposed, opening new insights into plant selection on breeding programs.


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