Division of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74075, USA.
Cells. 2021 Sep 16;10(9):2439. doi: 10.3390/cells10092439.
In this study, transcriptomic changes of the developing brain of pig fetuses of both sexes were investigated on gestation days (GD) 45, 60 and 90. Pig fetal brain grows rapidly around GD60. Consequently, gene expression of the fetal brain was distinctly different on GD90 compared to that of GD45 and GD60. In addition, varying numbers of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the male brain compared to the female brain during development. The sex of adjacent fetuses also influenced gene expression of the fetal brain. Extensive changes in gene expression at the exon-level were observed during brain development. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that the ionotropic glutamate receptor pathway and pathway were enriched in the female brain, whereas specific receptor-mediated signaling pathways were enriched in the male brain. Marker genes of neurons and astrocytes were significantly differentially expressed between male and female brains during development. Furthermore, comparative analysis of gene expression patterns between fetal brain and placenta suggested that genes related to ion transportation may play a key role in the regulation of the brain-placental axis in pig. Collectively, the study suggests potential application of pig models to better understand influence of fetal sex on brain development.
本研究旨在探讨公母胎猪在妊娠第 45、60 和 90 天的大脑转录组变化。猪胎儿大脑在 GD60 左右迅速生长。因此，与 GD45 和 GD60 相比，GD90 时胎儿大脑的基因表达明显不同。此外，在发育过程中，雄性大脑中与雌性大脑相比，差异表达基因（DEGs）的数量也不同。相邻胎儿的性别也会影响胎儿大脑的基因表达。在大脑发育过程中，观察到广泛的外显子水平的基因表达变化。通路富集分析表明，雌性大脑中谷氨酸能受体通路和通路富集，而雄性大脑中则富集特定的受体介导的信号通路。在发育过程中，雄性和雌性大脑中的神经元和星形胶质细胞标记基因的表达存在显著差异。此外，胎儿大脑和胎盘之间基因表达模式的比较分析表明，与离子转运相关的基因可能在猪脑-胎盘轴的调节中发挥关键作用。总之，该研究表明猪模型可能有助于更好地理解胎儿性别对大脑发育的影响。
