Xia Shuwen, Jiang Yingying, Li Wenjie, An Zhenjiang, Shen Yangyang, Ding Qiang, Chen Kunlin
Institute of Animal Science, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China.
Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Center of Precision Animal Breeding, Nanjing 210014, China.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Aug 5;15(15):2286. doi: 10.3390/ani15152286.
Heat stress in dairy cows, caused by high temperature and humidity during summer, has led to significant declines in milk production and severe economic losses for farms. Exosomes-extracellular vesicles carrying bioactive molecules-are critical for intercellular communication and immunity but remain understudied in heat-stressed . In this study, we extracted exosomes from three heat-stressed (HS) cows and three non-heat-stressed (Ctr) cows and employed proteomics to analyze plasma exosomes. We identified a total of 28 upregulated and 18 downregulated proteins in the HS group compared to the control group. Notably, we observed a significant upregulation of key protein groups, including cytoskeletal regulators, signaling mediators, and coagulation factors, alongside the downregulation of HP-25_1. These differentially expressed proteins demonstrate strong potential as heat stress biomarkers. GO and KEGG analyses linked the differentially expressed proteins to actin cytoskeleton regulation and endoplasmic reticulum pathways. Additionally, protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis revealed the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway as a central node in the cellular response to heat stress. These findings establish plasma exosomes as valuable biospecimens, provide valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms of heat stress response, and may contribute to the development of precision breeding strategies for enhanced thermal resilience in dairy herds.
夏季高温高湿导致奶牛热应激，造成产奶量显著下降，给养殖场带来严重经济损失。外泌体——携带生物活性分子的细胞外囊泡——对细胞间通讯和免疫至关重要，但在热应激条件下仍未得到充分研究。在本研究中，我们从三头热应激（HS）奶牛和三头非热应激（Ctr）奶牛中提取外泌体，并采用蛋白质组学方法分析血浆外泌体。与对照组相比，我们在HS组中共鉴定出28种上调蛋白和18种下调蛋白。值得注意的是，我们观察到关键蛋白组显著上调，包括细胞骨架调节因子、信号介质和凝血因子，同时HP-25_1下调。这些差异表达的蛋白具有作为热应激生物标志物的强大潜力。GO和KEGG分析将差异表达的蛋白与肌动蛋白细胞骨架调节和内质网途径联系起来。此外，蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用（PPI）分析揭示PI3K-Akt信号通路是细胞对热应激反应的中心节点。这些发现确立了血浆外泌体作为有价值的生物样本，为热应激反应的分子机制提供了有价值的见解，并可能有助于制定精准育种策略，以提高奶牛群的热适应能力。
