College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China.
The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 450000, China.
Res Vet Sci. 2021 May;136:287-296. doi: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2021.02.023. Epub 2021 Mar 1.
For investigating the effects of stress on the immune response of chickens, we established a corticosterone (CORT)-induced stress model by exogenous intake of CORT. Control group was fed with a basal diet and the stress model group was fed with a 30 mg/Kg CORT-treated diet in ad libitum conditions for 7 days. Then, we used RNA-seq technology to identify the expression pattern of miRNAs, target genes, and relevant pathways in chicken spleen. Results showed that 71 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were determined, 9 of which were significantly differentially expressed miRNAs (SDEMs), and 241 target genes of DEMs were predicted. GO annotation and KEGG pathway analysis were carried out to understand the role of the DEMs. Out of 287 significantly enriched GO terms, 37 were stress- or immune-related, such as response to light stimulus, detection of oxidative stress, and immune response in mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue. Out of 85 KEGG pathways, 8 were related to stress or immunity, such as cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, JAK-STAT signaling pathway, and RLR signaling pathway. We then constructed the interaction networks between target genes from immune-related pathways and their DEMs. The analysis results suggested that some DEMs (gga-miR-17 family, gga-miR-15/16 family, gga-miR-2954 and gga-miR-34b-5p) and target genes (SIKE1, CX3CL1, IL11Ra, PIGR, and CDKN1A) were core miRNAs and genes. This study revealed the dynamic miRNA transcriptome, target genes and related pathways in chicken spleen under CORT-induced stress model, which provided a basis for studying the molecular mechanism of stress affecting immune function.
为了研究应激对鸡免疫反应的影响，我们通过外源性摄入皮质酮（CORT）建立了皮质酮诱导的应激模型。对照组饲喂基础日粮，应激模型组在自由采食条件下饲喂 30mg/kg CORT 处理日粮 7 天。然后，我们使用 RNA-seq 技术鉴定了鸡脾脏中 miRNAs、靶基因和相关通路的表达模式。结果表明，确定了 71 个差异表达的 miRNAs（DEMs），其中 9 个是显著差异表达的 miRNAs（SDEMs），并预测了 241 个 DEMs 的靶基因。GO 注释和 KEGG 通路分析用于了解 DEMs 的作用。在 287 个显著富集的 GO 术语中，有 37 个与应激或免疫相关，如对光刺激的反应、氧化应激的检测和黏膜相关淋巴组织中的免疫反应。在 85 个 KEGG 通路中，有 8 个与应激或免疫相关，如细胞因子-细胞因子受体相互作用、JAK-STAT 信号通路和 RLR 信号通路。然后，我们构建了免疫相关通路的靶基因与其 DEMs 之间的互作网络。分析结果表明，一些 DEMs（gga-miR-17 家族、gga-miR-15/16 家族、gga-miR-2954 和 gga-miR-34b-5p）和靶基因（SIKE1、CX3CL1、IL11Ra、PIGR 和 CDKN1A）是核心 miRNAs 和基因。本研究揭示了 CORT 诱导应激模型下鸡脾脏中动态 miRNA 转录组、靶基因及相关通路，为研究应激影响免疫功能的分子机制提供了依据。
