State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Beijing Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Station, Beijing 100107, China.
Genes (Basel). 2021 Nov 7;12(11):1767. doi: 10.3390/genes12111767.
Molting in birds provides us with an ideal genetic model for understanding aging and rejuvenation since birds present younger characteristics for reproduction and appearance after molting. Forced molting (FM) by fasting in chickens causes aging of their reproductive system and then promotes cell redevelopment by providing water and feed again. To reveal the genetic mechanism of rejuvenation, we detected blood hormone indexes and gene expression levels in the hypothalamus and ovary of hens from five different periods during FM. Three hormones were identified as participating in FM. Furthermore, the variation trends of gene expression levels in the hypothalamus and ovary at five different stages were found to be basically similar using transcriptome analysis. Among them, 45 genes were found to regulate cell aging during fasting stress and 12 genes were found to promote cell development during the recovery period in the hypothalamus. In addition, five hub genes ( and ) were identified by WGCNA. FM can restart the reproductive function of aged hens by regulating expression levels of genes associated with aging and development. Our study not only enriches the theoretical basis of FM but also provides insights for the study of antiaging in humans and the conception mechanism in elderly women.
鸟类的换羽为我们提供了一个理想的遗传模型，用于理解衰老和返老还童，因为鸟类在换羽后表现出更年轻的生殖和外貌特征。通过禁食强制换羽（FM）会导致鸡的生殖系统衰老，然后通过再次提供水和饲料来促进细胞再生。为了揭示返老还童的遗传机制，我们在 FM 期间的五个不同阶段检测了母鸡血液中的激素指标和下丘脑及卵巢中的基因表达水平。鉴定出三种激素参与 FM。此外，通过转录组分析发现，下丘脑和卵巢中五个不同阶段的基因表达水平变化趋势基本相似。其中，在禁食应激过程中发现 45 个基因调节细胞衰老，在恢复期发现 12 个基因促进细胞发育。此外，通过 WGCNA 鉴定出五个枢纽基因（和）。FM 可以通过调节与衰老和发育相关的基因表达水平来重新启动老年母鸡的生殖功能。我们的研究不仅丰富了 FM 的理论基础，还为人类抗衰老和老年女性受孕机制的研究提供了新的思路。
