Expression of tissue factor pathway inhibitor 2 in the follicles of chicken ovaries and its regulatory mechanism in cultured granulosa cells

doi:10.1016/j.jia.2023.06.038

Journal of Integrative Agriculture

2025, Vol. 24

Issue (2): 680-696 DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2023.06.038

Animal Science · Veterinary Medicine

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Expression of tissue factor pathway inhibitor 2 in the follicles of chicken ovaries and its regulatory mechanism in cultured granulosa cells

Chong Li^{1, 2}, Yangguang Ren^{1, 2}, Yudian Zhao^{1, 2}, Zihao Zhang^{1, 2}, Bin Zhai^{1, 2}, Jing Li^{1, 2}, Qi Li³, Guoxi Li^{1, 2}, Zhuanjian Li^{1, 2}, Xiaojun Liu^{1, 2}, Xiangtao Kang^{1, 2}, Ruirui Jiang^{1, 2}, Yadong Tian^{1, 2#}, Donghua Li^{1, 2#}

¹College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China

²Henan Key Laboratory for Innovation and Utilization of Chicken Germplasm Resources, Zhengzhou 450046, China

³ Department of Animal Science, Henan Zhumadian Agricultural School, Zhumadian 463000, China

Highlights
● TFPI2 is widely expressed in chicken ovarian tissue, with its main targets located in the granulosa layer of follicles at different developmental stages.
● In chicken ovarian granulosa cells, TFPI2 inhibits the synthesis of steroid hormones and can regulate the expression of MMP family genes through the Wnt signaling pathway, thereby influencing follicular development.
● In chicken ovarian granulosa cells, exogenous addition of pituitary hormones (FSH and LH) can regulate the expression of TFPI2 through different signaling pathways (such as PKA, PKC, PI3K, and mTOR) in a time-dependent manner.

Abstract
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摘要

本研究旨在探讨TFPI2在鸡卵巢中的表达分布以及在培养卵巢颗粒细胞中的调控机制。首先，对海兰褐蛋鸡30周龄和15周龄卵巢组织进行转录组测序，获得差异表达基因TFPI2，通过RACE技术获得了TFPI2的cDNA全长，并对其蛋白序列进行生物信息学分析，成功制备TFPI2多克隆抗体后，利用荧光定量PCR（qRT-PCR）和蛋白质印迹（Western Blot）检测了TFPI2 mRNA和蛋白在不同发育状态卵泡中的表达；然后，通过体外培养卵巢颗粒细胞，进行垂体激素（FSH/LH）处理，探究了FSH/LH处理鸡卵巢颗粒细胞对TFPI2表达调控影响；最后，成功构建了含有目的基因TFPI2的过表达载体TFPI2-pcDNA3.1-EGFP和siRNA探究了TFPI2对鸡卵巢颗粒细胞的调控机制。结果表明：从成年鸡卵巢中获得了TFPI2的cDNA全长，包括5'非翻译区（5´UTR）长55 bp、3'非翻译区（3´UTR）长975 bp、蛋白质编码区（CDS）长720 bp、可编码240个氨基酸残基；通过构建进化树发现TFPI2蛋白与已知的鸟类同源物具有高度保守的氨基酸序列。qRT-PCR 和Western Blot表明TFPI2在成年鸡卵泡组织中广泛表达。免疫组织化学表明，TFPI2蛋白存在于不同发育状态的鸡卵巢卵泡中，如原始卵泡、卵巢基质、等级前卵泡（6-8mm）和排卵前卵泡（F1）的颗粒层和膜层。在体外实验中，促卵泡激素或促黄体生成素（FSH/LH）促进鸡颗粒细胞中TFPI2的表达。其中，FSH/LH诱导的TFPI2 mRNA表达是由信号通路如PKA、PKC、PI3K和mTOR等介导。功能上，TFPI2促进了培养的颗粒细胞的增殖和活力，并降低了孕酮（P4）和雌激素（E2）的分泌，类固醇激素合成相关基因（STAR、Cyp17a1、Cyp19a1和3B-HSD）以及细胞外基质（ECM）溶解相关基因MMPs（MMP2、7、9和11）的mRNA丰度。机制上，TFPI2可以通过Wnt信号通路抑制MMP7的表达。以上结果表明，TFPI2在不同卵泡均有表达，主要的作用靶点在GCs，可通过调控鸡卵泡GCs的增殖分化，以及类固醇激素的合成和降低ECM的溶解进而影响卵泡发育，此外，FSH和LH激素可以诱导不同的通路来调控TFPI2的表达，这些研究结果为明确TFPI2基因在鸡卵泡发育过程以及排卵的分子调控机制提供了理论和试验依据。

Abstract

Tissue factor pathway inhibitor 2 (TFPI2) plays a key role in female reproduction. However, its expression and function in chickens are still unclear. In this study, RNA-seq was performed on ovarian tissues from chickens aged 30 and 15 weeks to identify the differentially expressed gene TFPI2. The full-length cDNA of TFPI2 was obtained from adult chicken ovaries by rapid-amplification of cDNA ends (RACE), and the putative TFPI2 protein was found to share a highly conserved amino acid sequence with known bird homologs. In addition, TFPI2 was widely expressed in the tissues of adult chicken follicles according to quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. Immunohistochemistry suggested that the TFPI2 protein existed in chicken ovary follicles at different developmental states, such as primordial follicles, the ovarian stroma, and the granulosa and theca layers of prehierarchical follicles (6–8 mm) and preovulatory follicles (F1). In vitro, follicle stimulating hormone or luteinizing hormone (FSH/LH) stimulated the expression of TFPI2 in chicken granulosa cells. FSH-/LH-induced TFPI2 mRNA expression was mediated by signaling pathways such as the PKA, PKC, PI3K, and mTOR pathways. Functionally, TFPI2 promoted the proliferation and viability of cultured granulosa cells and decreased the secretion of Progesterone (P4) and Estrogen (E2) and the mRNA abundance of key steroidogenic enzymes (STAR, Cyp17a1, Cyp19a1 and 3B-HSD) as well as MMPs (MMP2, 7, 9 and 11). Mechanistically, TFPI2 inhibited the expression of MMP7 via the Wnt signaling pathway. These findings indicate that TFPI2 may play an important role in regulating chicken follicular development and ovulation and suggest the molecular regulation mechanisms.

Keywords: layer TFPI2 FSH/LH follicles granulosa cells

Received: 11 April 2023 Accepted: 28 May 2023

Fund:

This research was funded by grants from the Program for Innovative Research Team (in Science and Technology) in University of Henan Province, China (21IRTSTHN022) and the Zhongyuan Science and the Technology Innovation Leading Scientist Project, China (214200510003).

About author: Chong Li, E-mail: lc0924ll@163.com; #Correspondence Yadong Tian, E-mail: ydtian111@163.com; Donghua Li, Tel: +86-371-56552517, E-mail: lidonghua6656@126.com

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Chong Li, Yangguang Ren, Yudian Zhao, Zihao Zhang, Bin Zhai, Jing Li, Qi Li, Guoxi Li, Zhuanjian Li, Xiaojun Liu, Xiangtao Kang, Ruirui Jiang, Yadong Tian, Donghua Li. 2025. Expression of tissue factor pathway inhibitor 2 in the follicles of chicken ovaries and its regulatory mechanism in cultured granulosa cells. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 24(2): 680-696.

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