Sexually Dimorphic Transcriptomic Changes of Developing Fetal Brain Reveal Signaling Pathways and Marker Genes of Brain Cells in Domestic Pigs
In this study, transcriptomic changes of the developing brain of pig fetuses of both sexes were investigated on gestation days (GD) 45, 60 and 90. Pig fetal brain grows rapidly around GD60. Consequently, gene expression of the fetal brain was distinctly different on GD90 compared to that of GD45 and...
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2021-09-01
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doaj-8fc727ee5aab42cf96097acc3ca92d922021-09-25T23:53:12ZengMDPI AGCells2073-44092021-09-01102439243910.3390/cells10092439Sexually Dimorphic Transcriptomic Changes of Developing Fetal Brain Reveal Signaling Pathways and Marker Genes of Brain Cells in Domestic PigsMonica Strawn0Joao G. N. Moraes1Timothy J. Safranski2Susanta K. Behura3Division of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USADivision of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USADivision of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USADivision of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USAIn this study, transcriptomic changes of the developing brain of pig fetuses of both sexes were investigated on gestation days (GD) 45, 60 and 90. Pig fetal brain grows rapidly around GD60. Consequently, gene expression of the fetal brain was distinctly different on GD90 compared to that of GD45 and GD60. In addition, varying numbers of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the male brain compared to the female brain during development. The sex of adjacent fetuses also influenced gene expression of the fetal brain. Extensive changes in gene expression at the exon-level were observed during brain development. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that the ionotropic glutamate receptor pathway and <i>p53</i> pathway were enriched in the female brain, whereas specific receptor-mediated signaling pathways were enriched in the male brain. Marker genes of neurons and astrocytes were significantly differentially expressed between male and female brains during development. Furthermore, comparative analysis of gene expression patterns between fetal brain and placenta suggested that genes related to ion transportation may play a key role in the regulation of the brain-placental axis in pig. Collectively, the study suggests potential application of pig models to better understand influence of fetal sex on brain development.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/10/9/2439fetal sexgene regulationbrain developmentplacentaswine |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Monica Strawn Joao G. N. Moraes Timothy J. Safranski Susanta K. Behura |
spellingShingle |
Monica Strawn Joao G. N. Moraes Timothy J. Safranski Susanta K. Behura Sexually Dimorphic Transcriptomic Changes of Developing Fetal Brain Reveal Signaling Pathways and Marker Genes of Brain Cells in Domestic Pigs Cells fetal sex gene regulation brain development placenta swine |
author_facet |
Monica Strawn Joao G. N. Moraes Timothy J. Safranski Susanta K. Behura |
author_sort |
Monica Strawn |
title |
Sexually Dimorphic Transcriptomic Changes of Developing Fetal Brain Reveal Signaling Pathways and Marker Genes of Brain Cells in Domestic Pigs |
title_short |
Sexually Dimorphic Transcriptomic Changes of Developing Fetal Brain Reveal Signaling Pathways and Marker Genes of Brain Cells in Domestic Pigs |
title_full |
Sexually Dimorphic Transcriptomic Changes of Developing Fetal Brain Reveal Signaling Pathways and Marker Genes of Brain Cells in Domestic Pigs |
title_fullStr |
Sexually Dimorphic Transcriptomic Changes of Developing Fetal Brain Reveal Signaling Pathways and Marker Genes of Brain Cells in Domestic Pigs |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sexually Dimorphic Transcriptomic Changes of Developing Fetal Brain Reveal Signaling Pathways and Marker Genes of Brain Cells in Domestic Pigs |
title_sort |
sexually dimorphic transcriptomic changes of developing fetal brain reveal signaling pathways and marker genes of brain cells in domestic pigs |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Cells |
issn |
2073-4409 |
publishDate |
2021-09-01 |
description |
In this study, transcriptomic changes of the developing brain of pig fetuses of both sexes were investigated on gestation days (GD) 45, 60 and 90. Pig fetal brain grows rapidly around GD60. Consequently, gene expression of the fetal brain was distinctly different on GD90 compared to that of GD45 and GD60. In addition, varying numbers of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the male brain compared to the female brain during development. The sex of adjacent fetuses also influenced gene expression of the fetal brain. Extensive changes in gene expression at the exon-level were observed during brain development. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that the ionotropic glutamate receptor pathway and <i>p53</i> pathway were enriched in the female brain, whereas specific receptor-mediated signaling pathways were enriched in the male brain. Marker genes of neurons and astrocytes were significantly differentially expressed between male and female brains during development. Furthermore, comparative analysis of gene expression patterns between fetal brain and placenta suggested that genes related to ion transportation may play a key role in the regulation of the brain-placental axis in pig. Collectively, the study suggests potential application of pig models to better understand influence of fetal sex on brain development. |
topic |
fetal sex gene regulation brain development placenta swine |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/10/9/2439 |
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