Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Yamaguchi University, Yoshida 1677-1 Yamaguchi-ken, Yamaguchi-shi, 753-8515, Japan.
Center for Gene Research, Yamaguchi University, Minami Kogushi 1-1-1, Ube-shi, Yamaguchi-ken, 755-8505, Japan.
Mamm Genome. 2022 Dec;33(4):606-618. doi: 10.1007/s00335-022-09958-9. Epub 2022 Jul 15.
Proper functioning of the anterior pituitary (AP) gland is imperative, however, is suppressed by aging via unclear mechanisms. Therefore, we identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the AP glands of Japanese Black young heifers (approximately 22 months old) compared to old cows (approximately 120 months old) via deep sequencing of the transcriptome (RNA-seq) to characterize potentially important pathways. The young and old AP glands expressed 20,171 annotated genes. Of the total transcripts per million, approximately 41.6% and 35.5% were the sum of seven AP hormone genes in young and old AP glands, respectively, with difference observed in the sum between the young and old AP glands (P < 0.05). Moreover, we identified 48 downregulated genes and 218 upregulated genes in old compared to young AP glands (P < 0.01, fold change > 120%). The DEGs included 1 cytokine (AIMP1), 3 growth factors (NRG2, PTN, and TGFB1), 1 receptor-associated protein gene (AGTRAP), and 10 receptor genes, including PRLHR and two orphan G-protein-coupled receptors (GPR156 and GPR176). Metascape analysis of the DEGs revealed "Peptide metabolic process," "Regulation of hormone levels," and "Peptide hormone processing" as enriched pathways. Furthermore, Ingenuity Pathway analysis of the DEGs revealed (1) a network of 24 genes (including GPR156 and PRLHR) named "Neurological disease, organismal injury and abnormalities, and psychological disorders", and (2) two canonical pathways (P < 0.01), namely "Huntington's disease signaling", and "AMPK signaling". Thus, the findings of the current study revealed relevant DEGs, while identifying important pathways that occur during aging in AP glands of female cattle.
前垂体（AP）腺的正常功能至关重要，但衰老会通过不明机制抑制其功能。因此，我们通过转录组（RNA-seq）深度测序，鉴定了日本黑小母牛（约 22 月龄）和老牛（约 120 月龄）AP 腺中的差异表达基因（DEGs），以描述潜在的重要途径。年轻和年老的 AP 腺表达了 20171 个注释基因。在每百万转录本中，年轻和年老的 AP 腺中约有 41.6%和 35.5%是七种 AP 激素基因的总和，在年轻和年老的 AP 腺之间观察到总和的差异（P < 0.05）。此外，与年轻的 AP 腺相比，年老的 AP 腺中鉴定出 48 个下调基因和 218 个上调基因（P < 0.01，倍数变化 > 120%）。DEGs 包括 1 种细胞因子（AIMP1）、3 种生长因子（NRG2、PTN 和 TGFB1）、1 种受体相关蛋白基因（AGTRAP）和 10 种受体基因，包括 PRLHR 和两种孤儿 G 蛋白偶联受体（GPR156 和 GPR176）。DEGs 的 Metascape 分析显示，“肽代谢过程”、“激素水平调节”和“肽激素加工”是丰富的途径。此外，DEGs 的Ingenuity Pathway 分析显示（1）一个由 24 个基因（包括 GPR156 和 PRLHR）组成的网络，名为“神经疾病、机体损伤和异常以及心理障碍”，以及（2）两条经典途径（P < 0.01），即“亨廷顿病信号”和“AMPK 信号”。因此，本研究的结果揭示了相关的 DEGs，同时确定了在雌性牛的 AP 腺衰老过程中发生的重要途径。
