Uterine infection-induced transcriptomic changes in the bovine endometrium.
- 1Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, United States.
- 2Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, United States.
Abstract
Background
Uterine infections negatively impact cow health and productivity, increasing herd health costs, infertility, and culling. They also interfere with immune efficiency, sperm transport, embryonic development, and implantation, thus leading to pregnancy failure and infertility. Most previous studies have focused on transcriptomic changes induced by uterine infection in dairy cows. The present study aimed to investigate the changes in the endometrial transcript caused by uterine infections in beef cows.Methods
To achieve this, we examined the reproductive tract of over 200 Angus cows at a local slaughterhouse and collected intercaruncular endometrial tissues from a subset of infected cows (uteri filled with pus) and normal cyclic cows (n = 5/group). After isolating total RNA, the samples were subjected to high-throughput RNA sequencing (n = 5/group), and differentially expressed genes were validated using qPCR.Results
RNA seq revealed 954 differentially expressed genes (538 upregulated and 416 downregulated) in the bovine endometrium compared to infectious and normal uterine samples. The Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) showed 822 genes enriched in the bovine endometrium, with 530 upregulated and 292 downregulated in response to uterine infection. The activated immune system components include TLR receptors, NLR receptors, RLR receptors, cytokines, and chemokines. This enrichment of genes and molecules affects various biological processes and pathways, such as inflammatory and immune responses, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, and chemokine signaling.Conclusions
In summary, uterine infection alters the transcriptomic profile of the endometrium in infectious beef cows, potentially leading to pregnancy failure and infertility.
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BibTeX
@article{adnan2026uterine,
title = {{Uterine infection-induced transcriptomic changes in the bovine endometrium.}},
author = {Mahfuz Rahman Adnan and Chin N Lee and Vedbar S Khadka and Birendra Mishra},
journal = {Frontiers in veterinary science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fvets.2026.1916650},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903093},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Uterine infection-induced transcriptomic changes in the bovine endometrium.
AU - Mahfuz Rahman Adnan
AU - Chin N Lee
AU - Vedbar S Khadka
AU - Birendra Mishra
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
JO - Frontiers in veterinary science
DO - 10.3389/fvets.2026.1916650
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903093
AB - Background Uterine infections negatively impact cow health and productivity, increasing herd health costs, infertility, and culling. They also interfere with immune efficiency, sperm transport, embryonic development, and implantation, thus leading to pregnancy failure and infertility. Most previous studies have focused on transcriptomic changes induced by uterine infection in dairy cows. The present study aimed to investigate the changes in the endometrial transcript caused by uterine infections in beef cows.Methods To achieve this, we examined the reproductive tract of over 200 Angus cows at a local slaughterhouse and collected intercaruncular endometrial tissues from a subset of infected cows (uteri filled with pus) and normal cyclic cows (n = 5/group). After isolating total RNA, the samples were subjected to high-throughput RNA sequencing (n = 5/group), and differentially expressed genes were validated using qPCR.Results RNA seq revealed 954 differentially expressed genes (538 upregulated and 416 downregulated) in the bovine endometrium compared to infectious and normal uterine samples. The Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) showed 822 genes enriched in the bovine endometrium, with 530 upregulated and 292 downregulated in response to uterine infection. The activated immune system components include TLR receptors, NLR receptors, RLR receptors, cytokines, and chemokines. This enrichment of genes and molecules affects various biological processes and pathways, such as inflammatory and immune responses, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, and chemokine signaling.Conclusions In summary, uterine infection alters the transcriptomic profile of the endometrium in infectious beef cows, potentially leading to pregnancy failure and infertility.
SN - 2297-1769
ER -