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. 2022 Dec 21:2022:8999899.
doi: 10.1155/2022/8999899. eCollection 2022.

Coprophagy Prevention Affects the Reproductive Performance in New Zealand White Rabbits Is Mediated through Nox4-ROS-NF κ B Pathway

Zhichao Li  1 , RuiTing Li  1 , Jing Li  2 , Zhitong Wang  1 , Hui He  1 , Duo Yan  1 , Lei Yu  1 , Hengjian Li  1 , Ming Li  1 , Huifen Xu  1
Affiliations

Coprophagy Prevention Affects the Reproductive Performance in New Zealand White Rabbits Is Mediated through Nox4-ROS-NF κ B Pathway

Zhichao Li et al. Oxid Med Cell Longev. .

Abstract

Coprophagy is of great significance to the growth, development, and reproductive performance of rabbits. This study is aimed at exploring the effect of coprophagy on the reproductive performance of New Zealand white rabbits by coprophagy prevention (CP). The results showed that CP treatment significantly decreased the growth and development performance of female rabbits and the live birth rate of embryos. The results of blood biochemical indexes showed that CP treatment significantly increased the contents of serum ALB, ALP, and MDA, while serum SOD activity was significantly decreased. Transcriptome analysis showed that GO terms were mainly enriched in transport function and reproductive function after CP treatment. In addition, KEGG results showed that inflammation related signal pathways were activated and the expression level of genes related to tight junction proteins was downregulated by CP treatment. Concurrently, western blot further confirmed the results of KEGG. In short, fecal feeding is an important survival strategy for some small rodents, coprophagy prevention will affect the inflammatory level of the body, change the oxidative stress level of the body, and then activate NOX4-ROS-NF-κB pathway, increase the expression level of adhesion protein ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, lead to the damage of uterine epithelial barrier, and then affect the reproductive performance of rabbits.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimental design. (a) Timeline of studies and fasting soft feces tools. (b) PROG (Progesterone) content. (c) Newborn rabbits in Con and CP group.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of serum biochemical parameters between Con and CP groups. (a) Contents of albumin, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, total bile acid alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and glutamyl transpeptidase. (b) Superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities, malondialdehyde content. (c) Content of glucose and glycosylated serum protein. (d) Content of blood urea nitrogen, blood creatinine, and blood uric acid. (e) Contents of triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Analysis of differentially expressed genes between Con and CP groups. (a) Display differentially expressed genes in the form of volcano map, including upregulated genes (red), downregulated genes (blue), and no differentially expressed genes (gray). (b) The clustering pattern analysis of differentially expressed genes. (c) GO terms enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes. (d) KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Oxidative stress state of endometrial epithelial cells between Con and CP groups. (a) The map of mitochondria was drawn with CGView software, and then the genes of mitochondria were marked according to the results of transcriptome sequencing. These genes were all upregulated. The red ones represented significant (P value < 0.05), and the gray ones represented no significant (P value > 0.05). B&C NADPHt, NADPH, and NADP+ content and NADH+/NADPH value. (d) Reactive ROS level between Con and CP group.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Inflammation level and barrier function verification of endometrial epithelial cells. (a) Western blot results of inflammatory and adherence factors in endometrial epithelial cells of Con and CP groups. (b) Relative expression levels were normalized by GAPDH (Inflammatory and adherence factors). (c) RT-qPCR results of barrier function and adherence factors in endometrial epithelial cells of Con and CP groups.
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