Heat Stress Impairs Endometrial Function During Implantation by Regulating Autophagy in Hainan Black Goat

Heat stress (HS) is a significant factor that adversely affects the health, welfare, and productivity of domestic animals, particularly impacting embryo implantation rates. However, the effects of HS on endometrial function during the peri-implantation period in Hainan black goats remain unclear. Th...

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Main Authors: Xiaoping Li, Yanyu Sun, Yi Min, Xinyu Wang, Diqi Yang, Hui Peng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Animals
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/22/3213
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author Xiaoping Li
Yanyu Sun
Yi Min
Xinyu Wang
Diqi Yang
Hui Peng
author_facet Xiaoping Li
Yanyu Sun
Yi Min
Xinyu Wang
Diqi Yang
Hui Peng
author_sort Xiaoping Li
collection DOAJ
description Heat stress (HS) is a significant factor that adversely affects the health, welfare, and productivity of domestic animals, particularly impacting embryo implantation rates. However, the effects of HS on endometrial function during the peri-implantation period in Hainan black goats remain unclear. This study explores the influence of HS on the endometrium of these goats. We collected uterine tissue samples from both control and heat-stressed goats and performed in vitro experiments using a 2 × 2 factorial design. This design included two temperature conditions (37 °C as the control and 42 °C to simulate heat stress) and two pharmacological treatments: chloroquine (CQ), an autophagy inhibitor, and rapamycin (RAPA), an autophagy activator. Our results showed that heat stress initially suppresses autophagy activity, which is subsequently enhanced with prolonged exposure. The pharmacologic modulation of autophagy, through activation or inhibition, resulted in corresponding upregulation or downregulation of the endometrial epithelial cells’ (EECs) receptivity markers. The overexpression of ATG7 partially reversed the HS-induced downregulation of these markers. Additionally, TJP1, a tight-junction marker, was degraded under the pharmacologic and genetic activation of autophagy in HS conditions but accumulated more in the EECs pre-treated with CQ. These findings suggest that autophagy plays a protective role in maintaining endometrial function under HS conditions in Hainan black goats. This study offers valuable insights into the role of autophagy in endometrial receptivity and proposes a potential strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of HS on goat reproduction.
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spelling doaj-art-b28ed0f36db546d0b030206772c4eda72025-08-20T02:07:57ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152024-11-011422321310.3390/ani14223213Heat Stress Impairs Endometrial Function During Implantation by Regulating Autophagy in Hainan Black GoatXiaoping Li0Yanyu Sun1Yi Min2Xinyu Wang3Diqi Yang4Hui Peng5School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, ChinaSchool of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, ChinaSchool of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, ChinaSchool of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, ChinaSchool of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, ChinaSchool of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, ChinaHeat stress (HS) is a significant factor that adversely affects the health, welfare, and productivity of domestic animals, particularly impacting embryo implantation rates. However, the effects of HS on endometrial function during the peri-implantation period in Hainan black goats remain unclear. This study explores the influence of HS on the endometrium of these goats. We collected uterine tissue samples from both control and heat-stressed goats and performed in vitro experiments using a 2 × 2 factorial design. This design included two temperature conditions (37 °C as the control and 42 °C to simulate heat stress) and two pharmacological treatments: chloroquine (CQ), an autophagy inhibitor, and rapamycin (RAPA), an autophagy activator. Our results showed that heat stress initially suppresses autophagy activity, which is subsequently enhanced with prolonged exposure. The pharmacologic modulation of autophagy, through activation or inhibition, resulted in corresponding upregulation or downregulation of the endometrial epithelial cells’ (EECs) receptivity markers. The overexpression of ATG7 partially reversed the HS-induced downregulation of these markers. Additionally, TJP1, a tight-junction marker, was degraded under the pharmacologic and genetic activation of autophagy in HS conditions but accumulated more in the EECs pre-treated with CQ. These findings suggest that autophagy plays a protective role in maintaining endometrial function under HS conditions in Hainan black goats. This study offers valuable insights into the role of autophagy in endometrial receptivity and proposes a potential strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of HS on goat reproduction.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/22/3213goatheat stressembryo implantationautophagytight junction
spellingShingle Xiaoping Li
Yanyu Sun
Yi Min
Xinyu Wang
Diqi Yang
Hui Peng
Heat Stress Impairs Endometrial Function During Implantation by Regulating Autophagy in Hainan Black Goat
Animals
goat
heat stress
embryo implantation
autophagy
tight junction
title Heat Stress Impairs Endometrial Function During Implantation by Regulating Autophagy in Hainan Black Goat
title_full Heat Stress Impairs Endometrial Function During Implantation by Regulating Autophagy in Hainan Black Goat
title_fullStr Heat Stress Impairs Endometrial Function During Implantation by Regulating Autophagy in Hainan Black Goat
title_full_unstemmed Heat Stress Impairs Endometrial Function During Implantation by Regulating Autophagy in Hainan Black Goat
title_short Heat Stress Impairs Endometrial Function During Implantation by Regulating Autophagy in Hainan Black Goat
title_sort heat stress impairs endometrial function during implantation by regulating autophagy in hainan black goat
topic goat
heat stress
embryo implantation
autophagy
tight junction
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/22/3213
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AT yimin heatstressimpairsendometrialfunctionduringimplantationbyregulatingautophagyinhainanblackgoat
AT xinyuwang heatstressimpairsendometrialfunctionduringimplantationbyregulatingautophagyinhainanblackgoat
AT diqiyang heatstressimpairsendometrialfunctionduringimplantationbyregulatingautophagyinhainanblackgoat
AT huipeng heatstressimpairsendometrialfunctionduringimplantationbyregulatingautophagyinhainanblackgoat