Association of RBP‐4 gene polymorphisms with follicular cysts in large white sows

Abstract

Follicular cysts, which is a common infertility disease, can cause financial losses in pig breeding programmes. The pathogenesis and mechanisms of the formation of follicular cysts are not understood clearly. In our previous study, the concentration of retinol‐binding protein 4 (RBP‐4) in the follicular fluid (FF) of the ovary with follicular cysts was found to be significantly higher than that of normal ovary, thereby suggesting that RBP‐4 may be a candidate biomarker for porcine follicular cysts. To study the association of RBP‐4 and follicular cysts further, we detected the polymorphisms of the RBP‐4 gene and the presence of follicular cysts by PCR‐Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay. In this study, we screened the mutations of RBP‐4 gene in 79 sows with follicular cysts and 100 normal sows without cysts. Results showed that +249‐63G>C polymorphisms were significantly associated with follicular cysts, and sows with CC genotype in RBP‐4 gene had a high risk of developing follicular cysts. Hence, our findings further proved that RBP‐4 may be a novel biomarker for follicular cysts, which may be valuable for the diagnosis of follicular cysts and molecular breeding of pigs.

Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic investigation of the genes and metabolites involved in swine follicular cyst formation

“…Studies in sows have analyzed follicular cyst morphology and fluid composition and steroid hormone concentration ( 7 ), changes in ovarian cyst cytoskeletal protein expression ( 8 ), and the association between RBP4 gene polymorphisms and follicle cysts ( 9 ). Stress stimulates the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, resulting in glucocorticoid secretion ( 10 – 13 ), which affects the normal development of follicles ( 14 , 15 ).…”