Duck circovirus regulates the expression of duck CLDN2 protein by activating the MAPK-ERK pathway to affect its adhesion and infection.

Unlabelled: Duck circovirus (DuCV) is widely recognized as a prominent virus in China's duck farming industry, known for its ability to cause persistent infections and significant immunosuppression, which can lead to an increased susceptibility to secondary infections, posing a significant threat to the duck industry. Moreover, clinical evidence also indicates the potential vertical transmission of the virus through duck embryos to subsequent generations of ducklings. However, the limited availability of suitable cell lines for cultivation of DuCV has hindered further investigation into the molecular mechanisms underlying its infection and pathogenicity.

Unraveling the impact of hyperleptinemia on female reproduction: insights from transgenic pig model.

Background: Infertility is a growing global health concern affecting millions of couples worldwide. Among several factors, an extreme body weight adversely affects reproductive functions. Leptin is a well-known adipokine that serves as an endocrine signal between adiposity and fertility.

Transcriptome analysis of porcine embryos derived from oocytes vitrified at the germinal vesicle stage.

Vitrification of porcine immature oocytes at the germinal vesicle (GV) stage reduces subsequent embryo yield and changes at the molecular level may occur during embryonic development. Therefore, the present study used porcine parthenogenetic embryos as a model to investigate the effect of GV oocyte vitrification on the transcriptional profiles of the resultant embryos at the 4-cell and blastocyst stages using the Smart-seq2 RNA-seq technique. We identified 743 (420 up-regulated and 323 down-regulated) and 994 (554 up-regulated and 440 down-regulated) differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from 4-cell embryos and blastocysts derived from vitrified GV oocytes, respectively.

Effect of duck interferon-α and an anti-cap protein polyclonal antibody against duck circovirus.

Duck circovirus (DuCV) is one of the most prevalent viruses in the duck breeding industry, and causes persistent infection and severe immunosuppression. Currently, there is a serious lack of prevention and control measures and no commercial vaccine against DuCV. Therefore, effective antiviral drugs are important for treating DuCV infection.

Comparison study of protective effects of porcine bile acids and sheep bile acids against heat stress in chickens.

Background: Heat stress (HS) is known to exert negative effects on the poultry and breeding industry, resulting in severe economic losses. Bile acids (BAs), an important component of bile, play a crucial role in improving the production performance of livestock and poultry, alleviating stress injury, and ensuring the health of livestock and poultry. At present, porcine BAs are widely used because of their therapeutic effects on HS; however, it remains unclear whether the same effects are exerted by sheep BAs, which are different from porcine BAs and have different compositions.

Pathogenicity of duck circovirus and fowl adenovirus serotype 4 co-infection in Cherry Valley ducks.

Duck circovirus (DuCV) is one of the most prevalent infectious viruses in the duck industry in China. Although the clinical symptoms vary, it often causes immunosuppression in the host and leads to secondary infection with other pathogens. Fowl adenovirus serotype 4 (FAdV-4) mainly infects chickens and causes hydropericardium hepatitis syndrome.

Development of immune deficient FAH-knockout miniature pig.

Human hepatocyte transplantation for liver disease treatment have been hampered by the lack of quality human hepatocytes. Pigs with their large body size, longevity and physiological similarities with human are appropriate animal models for the expansion of human hepatocytes. Here we report on the generation of RAG2IL2RγFAH (RGFKO) pigs CRISPR/Cas9 system and somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Construction of PIK3C3 Transgenic Pig and Its Pathogenesis of Liver Damage.

As a member of the PIKs family, PIK3C3 participates in autophagy and plays a central role in liver function. Several studies demonstrated that the complete suppression of PIK3C3 in mammals can cause hepatomegaly and hepatosteatosis. However, the function of PIK3C3 overexpression on the liver and other organs is still unknown.

Production of Triple-Gene (GGTA1, B2M and CIITA)-Modified Donor Pigs for Xenotransplantation.

Activation of human immune T-cells by swine leukocyte antigens class I (SLA-I) and class II (SLA-II) leads to xenograft destruction. Here, we generated the GGTA1, B2M, and CIITA (GBC) triple-gene-modified miniature pigs, analyzed the transcriptome of GBC-modified peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in the pig's spleen, and investigated their effectiveness in anti-immunological rejection. A total of six cloned piglets were successfully generated using somatic cell nuclear transfer, one of them carrying the heterozygous mutations in triple genes and the other five piglets carrying the homozygous mutations in GGTA1 and CIITA genes, but have the heterozygous mutation in the B2M gene.

Astaxanthin Supplementation Improves the Subsequent Developmental Competence of Vitrified Porcine Zygotes.

Cryopreservation of embryos has been confirmed to cause oxidative stress as a factor responsible for impaired developmental competence. Currently, astaxanthin (Ax) raises considerable interest as a strong exogenous antioxidant and for its potential in reproductive biology. The present study aimed to investigate the beneficial effects of Ax supplementation during culture of vitrified porcine zygotes and the possible underlying mechanisms.

Identification and validation of ram sperm proteins associated with cryoinjuries caused by the cryopreservation process.

The change of sperm protein profile after the cryopreservation process may influence fertilization and early embryonic development. The purpose of the present study was to identify ram sperm proteomic modifications induced by the cryopreservation process using the isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification labeling technology (iTRAQ) coupled with the parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) technology. Semen samples were collected from five Yunnan semi-fine wool rams using an electroejaculator.

Proteomic Exploration of Porcine Oocytes During Meiotic Maturation Using an Accurate TMT-Based Quantitative Approach.

The dynamic changes in protein expression are well known to be required for oocyte meiotic maturation. Although proteomic analysis has been performed in porcine oocytes during maturation, there is still no full data because of the technical limitations at that time. Here, a novel tandem mass tag (TMT)-based quantitative approach was used to compare the proteomic profiles of porcine immature and mature oocytes.

Transcriptome Analysis of mRNAs and Long Non-Coding RNAs During Subsequent Embryo Development of Porcine Cloned Zygotes After Vitrification.

Cryopreservation of porcine cloned zygotes has important implications for biotechnology and biomedicine research; however, lower embryo developmental potential remains an urgent problem to be resolved. For exploring the sublethal cryodamages during embryo development, this study was designed to acquire the mRNA and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) profiles of 2-cells, 4-cells and blastocysts derived from vitrified porcine cloned zygotes using transcriptome sequencing. We identified 167 differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs and 516 DE lncRNAs in 2-cell stage, 469 DE mRNAs and 565 lncRNAs in 4-cell stage, and 389 DE mRNAs and 816 DE lncRNAs in blastocyst stage.

Efficient Generation of P53 Biallelic Mutations in Diannan Miniature Pigs Using RNA-Guided Base Editing.

The base editing 3 (BE3) system, a single-base gene editing technology developed using CRISPR/Cas9n, has a broad range of applications for human disease model construction and gene therapy, as it is highly efficient, accurate, and non-destructive. P53 mutations are present in more than 50% of human malignancies. Due to the similarities between humans and pigs at the molecular level, pig models carrying P53 mutations can be used to research the mechanism of tumorigenesis and improve tumor diagnosis and treatment.

Delayed body development with reduced triglycerides levels in leptin transgenic pigs.

Leptin is a well-known adipokine that plays critical role in adiposity. To further investigate the role of leptin in adiposity, we utilized leptin overexpressing transgenic pigs and evaluated the effect of leptin on growth and development, fat deposition, and lipid metabolism at tissue and cell level. Leptin transgenic pigs were produced and divided into two groups: elevated leptin expression (leptin ( +)) and normal leptin expression group (control).

The characteristics of proteome and metabolome associated with contrasting sperm motility in goat seminal plasma.

Sperm motility is an index tightly associated with male fertility. A close relationship between seminal plasma and sperm motility has been confirmed. This study was to assess the protein and metabolite profiles of seminal plasma obtained from adult goats with high or low sperm motility using the proteomic and metabolomic strategies.

Trehalose modifies the protein profile of ram spermatozoa during cryopreservation.

As a magical oligosaccharide, trehalose has been revealed to enhance the post-thaw quality of stock semen. However, information regarding the cryoprotective mechanism of trehalose during cryopreservation has not yet been determined. This study was designed to observe the effects of trehalose on the proteome of ram frozen spermatozoa by applying the isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) strategy combined with parallel reaction monitoring (PRM).

Role of astaxanthin as an efficient antioxidant on the in vitro maturation and vitrification of porcine oocytes.

As one of the most powerful natural antioxidants, astaxanthin (Ax) has begun to be applied to the field of reproductive biology. Here we used porcine oocyte as a model to explore how Ax improves the oocyte potential during in vitro maturation (IVM), and we also investigated the cytoprotective effects of Ax on the vitrified oocytes. Ax supplementation (final concentration of 2.

Proteomic Changes of Porcine Oocytes After Vitrification and Subsequent Maturation: A Tandem Mass Tag-Based Quantitative Analysis.

Cryopreservation of immature germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes is a promising strategy in pigs but still results in reduced oocyte quality due to inevitable cryodamages. Recently, there has been more focus on the molecular changes of oocytes after vitrification, but the alteration in the proteome level remains elusive. The aim of this study therefore was to decipher the proteomic characteristics of porcine GV oocytes following vitrification and maturation (IVM) by using tandem mass tag (TMT)-based quantitative approach and bioinformatics analysis.

Inhibitory effects of astaxanthin on postovulatory porcine oocyte aging in vitro.

Mammalian oocytes represent impaired quality after undergoing a process of postovulatory aging, which can be alleviated through various effective ways such as reagent treatment. Accumulating evidences have revealed the beneficial effects of astaxanthin (Ax) as a potential antioxidant on reproductive biology. Here, porcine matured oocytes were used as a model to explore whether Ax supplement can protect against oocyte aging in vitro and the underlying mechanism, and therefore they were cultured with or without 2.

Successful vitrification of early-stage porcine cloned embryos.

The objective of this study was to investigate the survival and development of porcine cloned embryos vitrified by Cryotop carrier at the zygote, 2- and 4-cell stages. The quality of resultant blastocysts was evaluated according to their total cell number, apoptotic cell rate, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, glutathione (GSH) content and mRNA expression levels of genes related to embryonic development. The survival rates of zygotes, 2- and 4-cell embryos after vitrification did not differ from those of their fresh counterparts.

TMT-based quantitative proteomic analysis of cumulus cells derived from vitrified porcine immature oocytes following in vitro maturation.

As the immature oocytes are submitted to cryopreservation, their surrounding cumulus cells (CCs) will inevitably suffer, which may have some adverse effects on subsequent oocyte maturation and development. So far, little is known about the molecular differences in CCs of immature oocytes after vitrification. The aim of this study therefore was to analyze the protein profile of CCs derived from vitrified porcine immature oocytes following in vitro maturation, using TMT-based quantitative proteomic approach.

Improved production of GTKO/hCD55/hCD59 triple-gene-modified Diannan miniature pigs for xenotransplantation by recloning.

Multiple genetic modification is necessary for successful xenotransplantation from pigs. However, multiple-genetically modified cells usually suffer from various drug selections and long-term in vitro culture, which have a poor performance for somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) to produce genetically modified pigs. We used to generate GTKO/hCD55/hCD59 triple-gene modified pigs by using drug-selective cell lines for SCNT, but the majority of cloned pigs were transgenic-negative individuals.

Endogenous leptin promotes autophagy in EBSS-induced PFCs.

Leptin is an important adipokine and plays a vital role in animals. However, the role of leptin in the autophagic response of pig fibroblast cells (PFCs) has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we investigated the relationship between leptin and autophagy as well as underlying molecular basis.