Transcriptome Profiling Analysis of Bovine Vaginal Epithelial Cell Response to an Isolated Lactobacillus Strain

Uterine Disease in Dairy Cows: A Comprehensive Review Highlighting New Research Areas

Uterine disease is an intensely studied part of dairy cattle health management as it heavily affects many commercial dairy farms and has serious economic consequences. Forms of the disease, pathophysiology, pathogens involved and the effects of uterine disease on the health and performance of cows have already been well described by various authors. Lately, researchers' attention has shifted towards the healthy microbiome of the uterus and the vagina to put emphasis on prevention rather than treatment. This aligns with the growing demand to reduce the use of antibiotics or-whenever possible-replace them with alternative treatment options in farm animal medicine. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the last 20 years of uterine disease research and highlights promising new areas for future studies.

Impact of oestrus synchronization devices on ewes vaginal microbiota and artificial insemination outcome

Introduction

The low pregnancy rate by artificial insemination in sheep represents a fundamental challenge for breeding programs. In this species, oestrus synchronization is carried out by manipulating hormonal regimens through the insertion of progestogen intravaginal devices. This reproductive strategy may alter the vaginal microbiota affecting the artificial insemination outcome.

Methods

In this study, we analyzed the vaginal microbiome of 94 vaginal swabs collected from 47 ewes with alternative treatments applied to the progesterone-releasing intravaginal devices (probiotic, maltodextrin, antibiotic and control), in two sample periods (before placing and after removing the devices). To our knowledge, this is the first study using nanopore-based metagenome sequencing for vaginal microbiome characterization in livestock.

Results

Our results revealed a significant lower abundance of the genera Oenococcus (Firmicutes) and Neisseria (Proteobacteria) in pregnant compared to non-pregnant ewes. We also detected a significant lower abundance of Campylobacter in the group of samples treated with the probiotic.

Discussion

Although the use of probiotics represents a promising practice to improve insemination results, the election of the suitable species and concentration requires further investigation. In addition, the use of progestogen in the synchronization devices seemed to increase the alpha-diversity and decrease the abundance of harmful microorganisms belonging to Gammaproteobacteria and Fusobacteriia classes, suggesting a beneficial effect of their use.

The Use of Probiotics for Management and Improvement of Reproductive Eubiosis and Function

Reproductive tract dysbiosis, due to the action of pathogens and/or unhealthy lifestyle, has been related to many reproductive diseases and disorders in mammalian species. Classically, such a problem has been confronted by the administration of antibiotics. Despite their effectiveness for controlling disease, treatments with antibiotics may negatively affect the fertility of males and females and, mainly, may induce antibiotic resistance. Accordingly, safer alternatives for maintaining reproductive system eubiosis, such as probiotics, are required. The present review summarizes the current knowledge on the biodiversity of the microbiota at the reproductive tract, possible changes in the case of dysbiosis, and their relationships with adequate reproductive health and functioning in both females and males. Afterwards, mechanisms of action and benefits of different probiotics are weighed since the biological activities of probiotics may provide a promising alternative to antibiotics for maintaining and restoring reproductive eubiosis and function. However, at present, it is still necessary for further research to focus on: (a) identifying mechanisms by which probiotics can affect reproductive processes; (b) the safety of probiotics to the host, specifically when consumed during sensitive reproductive windows such as pregnancy; and (c) the hazards instructions and regulatory rules required for marketing these biological-based therapies with sufficient safety. Thus, in this review, to draw a comprehensive overview with a relatively low number of clinical studies in this field, we showed the findings of studies performed either on human or animal models. This review strategy may help provide concrete facts on the eligible probiotic strains, probiotics colonization and transfer route, and prophylactic and/or therapeutic effects of different probiotic strains.

Mycoplasma genitalium and M. pneumoniae Regulate a Distinct Set of Protein-Coding Genes in Epithelial Cells

Mycoplasma genitalium and M. pneumoniae are two significant mycoplasmas that infect the urogenital and respiratory tracts of humans. Despite distinct tissue tropisms, they both have similar pathogenic mechanisms and infect/invade epithelial cells in the respective regions and persist within these cells. However, the pathogenic mechanisms of these species in terms of bacterium-host interactions are poorly understood. To gain insights on this, we infected HeLa cells independently with M. genitalium and M. pneumoniae and assessed gene expression by whole transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) approach. The results revealed that HeLa cells respond to M. genitalium and M. pneumoniae differently by regulating various protein-coding genes. Though there is a significant overlap between the genes regulated by these species, many of the differentially expressed genes were specific to each species. KEGG pathway and signaling network analyses revealed that the genes specific to M. genitalium are more related to cellular processes. In contrast, the genes specific to M. pneumoniae infection are correlated with immune response and inflammation, possibly suggesting that M. pneumoniae has some inherent ability to modulate host immune pathways.

Effect of Lactobacillus johnsonii Strain SQ0048 on the TLRs-MyD88/NF-κB Signaling Pathway in Bovine Vaginal Epithelial Cells

Vaginal inflammation is a common disease of the dairy cows' reproductive tract. Lactic acid bacteria can combat purulent inflammation caused by pathogenic bacteria and regulate the NF-κB signaling pathway mediated by toll-like receptors (TLRs) in the inflammatory response. We studied the effect of Lactobacillus johnsonii SQ0048, an isolate with antibacterial activity, on the NF-κB signaling pathway in cow vaginal epithelial cells. The expression levels of serial effectors related to the TLRs-MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway (TLR2, TLR4, MyD88, IKK, NF-κB, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-10) were measured with real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), ELISA, and Western blot analyses. TLR2 and TLR4 were activated by SQ0048 cells, as noted by increased mRNA expression levels of TLR2 and TLR4 in SQ0048-treated bovine vaginal epithelial cells relative to control cells (P <0.01). SQ0048 treatment also significantly increased MyD88 and IKK expression, and activated NF-κB in vaginal epithelial cells (P <0.01). In addition, SQ0048 treatment also significantly increased mRNA expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, but decreased IL-10 mRNA expression levels (P <0.01). These data indicate that strain SQ0048 presence can improve the immune functions of cow vaginal epithelial cells by activating TLRs-MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathways. However, further in vivo studies are required to confirm these findings.

Transcriptome investigation of anti-inflammation and immuno-regulation mechanism of taurochenodeoxycholic acid

BACKGROUND

Taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDCA) is one of the major active components in bile acid. It was proven to have inhibitory activities on inflammation and also participate in host immuno-regulation. TCDCA exerts anti-inflammatory and immuno-regulatory effects through the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) mediated genomic signaling pathway and the G protein-coupled bile acid receptor 5 (TGR5) mediated AC-cAMP-PKA signaling pathway. However, it is unclear whether GR or TGR5 plays an important role in the regulatory effects of TCDCA. In order to further investigate this effects mechanism of TCDCA, the research use the transcriptome to identify the major genes and pathway in the anti-inflammatory and immuno-regulatory effects.

METHODS

After the Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) being treated by different concentrations (10- 5, 10- 6 and 10- 7 M) of TCDCA for 12 h, the resulting mRNA was analyzed by RNA-seq. The differentially expressed genes were screened from sequencing results using bioinformatics techniques. In the next step, other published literature were referred in order to find out whether those genes mentioned above are related to inflammation. The final selected differentially expressed genes associated with inflammation were then validated by q-PCR and western blot assays.

RESULTS

Five genes associated with anti-inflammatory and immuno-regulatory effects, include Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), Glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPX3), Serine/arginine-rich splicing factor-9 (SRSF9), Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and Cystatin B (CSTB) were identified. TCDCA at the concentrations of 10- 5, 10- 6 and 10- 7 M significantly (p < 0.05) up-regulate the mRNA and protein expression of SRSF9 and GPX3 and also up-regulate the mRNA expression of CSTB, CTGF and GAPDH. RNA-seq results of GPX3 and SRSF9 expression were consistent with q-PCR results, while q-PCR results of CTGF, GAPDH showed inconsistent with their RNA-seq results. Q-PCR result of CSTB expression also showed inconsistent with the RNA-seq result.

CONCLUSIONS

The anti-inflammatory and immuno-regulatory activities of TCDCA are proven to be related to the up-regulation expression of GPX3, SRSF9 and CSTB.

Analysis of Transcriptomic Changes in Bovine Endometrial Stromal Cells Treated With Lipopolysaccharide

Endometritis adversely affects the ability of cattle to reproduce and significantly reduces milk production. The is mainly composed of epithelial and stromal cells, and they produce the first immune response to invading pathogens. However, most of the epithelial cells are disrupted, and stromal cells are exposed to an inflammatory environment when endometritis occurs, especially postpartum. Many bacteria and toxins start attacking stromal cell due to loss of epithelium, which stimulates Toll-like receptor (TLRs) on stromal cells and causes upregulated expression of cytokines. Understanding the genome-wide characterization of bovine endometritis will be beneficial for prevention and treatment of endometritis. In this study, whole-transcriptomic gene changes in bovine endometrial stromal cells (BESCs) treated with LPS were compared with those treated with PBS (control group) and were analyzed by RNA sequencing. Compared with the control group, a total of 366 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the LPS-induced group (234 upregulated and 132 downregulated genes), with an adjusted P < 0.05 by DESeq. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis revealed that DEGs were most enriched in interleukin-1 receptor binding, regulation of cell activation, and lymphocyte-activated interleukin-12 production. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis revealed DEGs were most enriched in the TNF signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, NF-κB signaling pathway, and chemokine signaling pathway. The results of this study unraveled BESCs affected with LPS transcriptome profile alterations, which may have a significant effect on treatment inflammation by comprehending molecular mechanisms and authenticating unique genes related to endometritis.