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Chen Q, Yang D, Chen M, Xiong J, Huang J, Ding W, Gao K, Lai B, Zheng L, Tang Z, Zhang M, Yan T, He Z. Smad4 and FoxH1 potentially interact to regulate cyp19a1a promoter in the ovary of ricefield eel (Monopterus albus). Biol Sex Differ 2024; 15:60. [PMID: 39080808 PMCID: PMC11290265 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-024-00636-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/02/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cyp19a1a is a key enzyme in the pathway that converts androgens into estrogen and is regulated by TGF-β signaling. Smad4 and FoxH1 are downstream effectors of TGF-β signaling and may play important roles in ovarian development in M. albus. METHODS We investigated the expression pattern of the Smad4 and FoxH1 using qRT‒PCR and immunofluorescence, then tested the changes of smad4 and foxh1 by qRT‒PCR after ovary incubation with FSH in vitro, and analysed the regulation of cyp19a1a transcription by Smad4 and FoxH1 by dual-luciferase reporter assays. RESULTS We found that Smad4 encoded a putative protein of 449 amino acids and harbored the three conserved domains typical of this protein family. Smad4 and foxh1 exhibited similar expression patterns during ovarian development and after FSH incubation, with Pearson's coefficients of 0.873 and 0.63-0.81, respectively. Furthermore, Smad4, FoxH1 and Cyp19a1a colocalized in the granulosa cells and theca cells of ovaries during the mid-to-late vitellogenic stage. Smad4 repressed cyp19a1a activity via SBE1 (- 1372/-1364) and SBE2 (- 415/-407) in the cyp19a1a promoter, whereas mutating SBE1 or SBE2 restored cyp19a1a promoter activity. Co-overexpression of Smad4 and FoxH1 significantly reduced cyp19a1a promoter activity. CONCLUSIONS This study provides new insights into the potential functions of transcription factors Smad4 and FoxH1 in ovarian development and the transcriptional regulation mechanism of cyp19a1a in M. albus, which will reveal Smad4/FoxH1-mediated TGF-β signaling in reproduction and the regulation of the cyp19a1a. Aromatase, encoded by cyp19a1a, is involved in ovarian development and plays an important role in the quality of eggs, as well the sex ratio, of the teleost fish, M. albus. The research on the transcriptional regulation of cyp19a1a has contributed to the understanding of its role in ovarian development. In previous study, it was shown that FoxH1 inhibits cyp19a1a transcription. In the present study, Smad4 was confirmed as a cyp19a1a transcriptional repressor and Smad4 may also coordinate with FoxH1 to repress cyp19a1a transcription. At present, we provide a new perspective for the transcriptional regulation of cyp19a1a by transcription factors Smad4 and FoxH1 in teleost fish ovary. In the future, the regulatory networks of Smad4 and FoxH1 will be further studied and the gene editing technology will be applied to screen specific regulatory factors of cyp191a1a gene, so as to alter the female cycle and modulate the sex ratio of the eggs production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiqi Chen
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Deying Yang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Mingqiang Chen
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Jinxin Xiong
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Junjie Huang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Wenxiang Ding
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Kuo Gao
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Bolin Lai
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Li Zheng
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Ziting Tang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Mingwang Zhang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Taiming Yan
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Zhi He
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China.
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Liu Q, Zhao RM, Wang DY, Li P, Qu YF, Ji X. Genome-wide characterization of the TGF-β gene family and their expression in different tissues during tail regeneration in the Schlegel's Japanese gecko Gekko japonicus. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 255:128127. [PMID: 37984573 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.128127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
The transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) gene family is unique to animals and is involved in various important processes including tissue regeneration. Here, we identified 52 TGF-β family genes based on genome sequences of the gecko (Gekko japonicus), compared TGF-β genes between G. japonicus and other four reptilian species, and evaluated the expression of 14 randomly selected genes in muscle, kidney, liver, heart, and brain during tail regeneration to investigate whether their expression was tissue-dependent. We detected 23 conserved domains, 13 in the TGF-β ligand subfamily, and 10 in the receptor subfamily. The pattern of higher genetic variation in the ligand subfamily than in the receptor subfamily in vertebrates might result from the precise localization of agonists and antagonists in the cell surface and intracellular compartment. TGF-β genes were unevenly distributed across 15 chromosomes in G. japonicus, presumably resulting from gene losses and gains during evolution. Genes in the TGF-β receptor subfamily (ACVR2A, ACVR2B, ACVR1, BMPR1A, ACVRL1, BMPR2 and TGFBR1) played a vital role in the TGF-β signal pathway. The expression of all 14 randomly selected TGF-β genes was tissue-specific. Our study supports the speculation that some TGF-β family genes are involved in the early stages of tail regeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Ru-Meng Zhao
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Dan-Yan Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Peng Li
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Yan-Fu Qu
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China.
| | - Xiang Ji
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China.
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Zhen Z, Wenwen Y, Guanghui H, Chenghua L, Zhimeng L. AjTGFβ alleviates V. splendidus-induced inflammation through SMADs pathway in Apostichopus japonicus. FISH & SHELLFISH IMMUNOLOGY 2023; 134:108593. [PMID: 36746229 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2023.108593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The inhibition of inflammatory response is an essential process to control the development of inflammation and is an important step to protect the organism from excessive inflammatory damage. As a pleiotropic cytokine, transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) plays a regulatory role in inhibiting inflammation in vertebrates. To investigate the role of TGF-β in the regulation of inflammation in invertebrates, we cloned and characterized the TGF-β gene from Apostichopus japonicus via rapid amplification of cDNA ends, and the sample was designated as AjTGF-β. For Vibrio splendidus-challenged sea cucumbers, the expression of AjTGF-β mRNAs in coelomocytes decreased at 96 h (0.27-fold), which was contrary to the trend of inflammation. AjTGF-β was expressed in all tissues with the highest expression in the body wall. When AjTGF-β was knocked down by using small interfering RNA (siRNA-KD) to 0.45-fold, AjSMAD 2/3 and AjSMAD6 were downregulated to 0.32- and 0.05-fold compared with the control group, respectively. Furthermore, when the damaged sea cucumber was challenged by V. splendidus co-incubated with rAjTGF-β, the damage area had no extensive inflammation, and damaged repair appeared at 72 h compared with the Vs + BSA group, in which the expression of AjSMAD 2/3 was upregulated by 1.35-fold. Under this condition, AjSMAD 2/3 silencing alleviated rAjTGF-β-induced damage recovery. Moreover, rAjTGF-β slightly induced the collagen I expression from 6.13 ng/mL to 7.84 ng/mL, and collagen III was upregulated from 6.23 ng/mL to 6.89 ng/mL compared with the Vs + BSA group. This finding indicates that AjTGF-β negatively regulated the inflammatory progress and accelerated the repair of damage by AjSMADs to regulate the collagens expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhang Zhen
- State-Province Joint Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology and Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 315211, China
| | - Ye Wenwen
- State-Province Joint Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology and Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 315211, China
| | - Han Guanghui
- State-Province Joint Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology and Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 315211, China
| | - Li Chenghua
- State-Province Joint Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology and Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 315211, China.
| | - Lv Zhimeng
- State-Province Joint Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology and Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 315211, China.
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Zhang YM, Lin CY, Li BZ, Dong WR, Shu MA. Identification and functional analysis of two drosophila mothers against decapentaplegic protein(Smad)genes and their involvement in immune responses in the red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii. FISH & SHELLFISH IMMUNOLOGY 2022; 131:1255-1263. [PMID: 36427760 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2022.11.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Drosophila mothers against decapentaplegic proteins (Smads), the crucial signal transducers in activating downstream gene transcription through transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) receptors, are the pleiotropic factors with important role in mediating cell proliferation, homeostasis, differentiation, apoptosis and immune response. However, whether Smads are involved in immune response in crustaceans remains unexplored. In the present study, the Smad3 and Smad4 were firstly identified and functionally characterized from the Red Swamp Crayfish Procambarus clarkii. The full-length cDNAs of pcSmad3 and pcSmad4 were 1, 670 bp and 3, 060 bp with 1, 326 bp and 1, 875 bp open reading frame (ORF), respectively. Real-time PCR analysis of the expression profiles demonstrated that pcSmad3 and pcSmad4 were predominantly expressed at in stomach, heart, and hemocytes. Notably, the expression levels of pcSmad3 and pcSmad4 both Aeromonas hydrophila and WSSV challenges were significantly altered, suggesting the involvement of pcSmad3 and pcSmad4 in innate immune responses. Knockdown of pcSmad3 and pcSmad4 in vivo dramatically activated the transcriptions of NF-κB signaling genes and anti-lipopolysaccharide factor genes. The overexpression of pcSmad3 and pcSmad4 could significantly activate NF-κB signaling in HEK293T cells. Meanwhile, the clearance of bacteria was significantly reduced with knockdown of pcSmad3 and pcSmad4 in vivo. Results indicated that pcSmad3 and pcSmad4 played an immune-regulatory role in crayfish's innate immunity, which might pave the for a better understanding of the TGF-β superfamily members in crustacean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan-Mei Zhang
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Chen-Yang Lin
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Bang-Ze Li
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Wei-Ren Dong
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
| | - Miao-An Shu
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
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Zhang YM, Xu WB, Li BZ, Lin CY, Cheng YX, Xiao Y, Chen DY, Dong WR, Shu MA. Identification and functional analysis of drosophila mothers against decapentaplegic protein gene 1 (Smad1) from the red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii: The first evidence of Smad1 involved in immunity in invertebrates. FISH & SHELLFISH IMMUNOLOGY 2022; 127:13-22. [PMID: 35667540 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2022.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Revised: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Smads, part of signaling cascades that represent downstream pathways of the TGF-β super family proteins, are pleiotropic cytokines with important role in mediating cell proliferation, homeostasis, differentiation, apoptosis and immune response. However, the specific functions of Smads remain unknown in crustaceans. In the present study, the drosophila mothers against decapentaplegic protein gene 1 (Smad1) was firstly identified and characterized from the Red Swamp Crayfish Procambarus clarkii. The obtained cDNA sequence of pcSmad1was 2, 503 bp long with a 1, 488 bp open reading fame, which encoded a putative protein of 496 amino acids. Furthermore, pcSmad1 responded to both Aeromonas hydrophila and WSSV challenge, suggesting the involvement of pcSmad1 in innate immune responses. Knockdown of pcSmad1 in vivo dramatically increased the expressions of NF-κB signaling genes and anti-lipopolysaccharide factor genes. Additionally, overexpression of pcSmad1 in HEK293T cells could markedly activate NF-κB signaling. Taken together, these results indicated that pcSmad1 played an immune-regulatory role in crayfish's innate immunity, which may provide a better understanding of TGF-β superfamily members in crustacean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan-Mei Zhang
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Wen-Bin Xu
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Bang-Ze Li
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Chen-Yang Lin
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Yuan-Xin Cheng
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Yi Xiao
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Da-Yong Chen
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Wei-Ren Dong
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
| | - Miao-An Shu
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
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Hui F, Guo S, Liu J, Li M, Geng M, Xia Y, Liu X, Li Q, Li J, Zhu T. Genome-wide identification and characterization of NLR genes in lamprey (Lethenteron reissneri) and their responses to lipopolysaccharide/poly(I:C) challenge. Mol Immunol 2022; 143:122-134. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2022.01.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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