Arachidonic Acid Regulation of Intracellular Signaling Pathways and Target Gene Expression in Bovine Ovarian Granulosa Cells

• Main Authors: Nina Zhang, Liqiang Wang, Guoya Luo, Xiaorong Tang, Lizhu Ma, Yuxin Zheng, Shujie Liu, Christopher A. Price, Zhongliang Jiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-06-01
• Series: Animals
• Subjects: arachidonic acid; granulosa cells; cell survival; lipid droplet; steroid hormone
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/6/374

In the present study, AA was used to challenge bovine ovarian granulosa cells in vitro and the related parameters of cellular and molecular biology were measured. The results indicated that lower doses of AA increased survival of bovine granulosa cells whereas higher doses of AA suppressed survival. While lower doses of AA induced accumulation of lipid droplet in granulosa cells, the higher dose of AA inhibited lipid accumulation, and AA increased abundance of <i>FABP3</i>, <i>CD36</i> and <i>SLC27A1</i> mRNA. Higher doses of AA decreased the secretion of E2 and increased the secretion of P4 accompanied by down-regulation of the mRNA abundance of <i>CYP19A1</i>, <i>FSHR</i>, <i>HSD3B1</i> and <i>STAR</i> in granulosa cells. The signaling pathways employed by AA in the stimulation of genes expression included both ERK1/2 and Akt. Together, AA specifically affects physiological features, gene expression levels and steroid hormone secretion, and thus altering the functionality of granulosa cells of cattle.