Involvement of the VEGF signaling pathway in immunosuppression and hypoxia stress: analysis of mRNA expression in lymphocytes mediating panting in Jersey cattle under heat stress

作者：Jian Wang, Yang Xiang, Shisong Jiang, Hongchang Li, Flurin Caviezel, Suporn Katawatin, Monchai Duangjinda · 发表于：BMC Veterinary Research · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1186/s12917-021-02912-y · 被引用次数：14 · 研究领域：Effects of Environmental Stressors on Livestock、Reproductive Physiology in Livestock、Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies

Abstract Background Extreme panting under heat stress threatens dairy cattle milk production. Previous research has revealed that the gas exchange-mediated respiratory drive in critically ill dairy cattle with low O 2 saturation induces panting. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling may play important roles in immunosuppression and oxidative stress during severe respiratory stress responses in heat-stressed cattle. The objectives of this study were to transcriptomically analyze mRNA expression mediating heat-induced respiratory stress-associated panting, evaluate gas exchange, screen hub genes, and verify the expression of proteins encoded by differentially expressed genes in lymphocyte pathways. Results Jersey cattle were naturally heat-exposed. Physiological data were collected for response evaluation, and blood was collected for gas exchange and gene expression assays at 06:00, 10:00 and 14:00 continuously for 1 week. Lymphocytes were isolated from whole-blood samples for mRNA-seq and expression analysis of key pathway genes/proteins. The cattle respiration rates differed with time, averaging 51 bpm at 06:00, 76 bpm at 10:00, and 121 bpm at 14:00 ( p < 0.05). Gas exchange analysis showed that both pH and pCO 2 differed with time: they were 7.41 and 41 mmHg at 06:00, 7.45 and 37.5 mmHg at 10:00, and 7.49 and 33 mmHg at 14:00, respectively ( p < 0.01). Sixteen heat-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs; 13 upregulated and 3 downregulated) were scre...