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Transcriptome Profiling of Duodenum Reveals the Importance of Boron Supplementation in Modulating Immune Activities in Rats

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Abstract

As an essential trace element, appropriate boron supplementation can promote immune function of animals. To illustrate the effects of boron in a rat model, RNA-Seq was conducted for the RNA from duodenum after treatment with different concentration of boron in which boron was given in the form of boric acid. More than 47 million reads were obtained in 0, 10, and 320 mg/L boron (0, 57.21, and 1830.66 mg/L boric acid) treatment groups that produced 58 965 402, 48 607 328, and 46 760 660 clean reads, respectively. More than 95% of the clean reads were successfully matched to the rat reference genome and assembled to generate 32 662 transcripts. A total of 624 and 391 differentially expressed candidate genes (DEGs) were found between 0 vs.10 and 0 vs. 320 mg/L boron comparison groups. We also identified transcription start site, transcription terminal site, and skipped exons as the main alternative splicing events. GO annotations revealed most of DEGs were involved in the regulation of immune activity. The DEGs were enriched in influenza A, herpes simplex infection, cytosolic DNA-sensing pathway, and antigen processing and presentation signaling pathways. The expression levels of genes enriched in these signaling pathways indicate that lower doses of boron could achieve better effects on promoting immune response in the duodenum. These effects on the immune system appear to be mediated via altering the expression patterns of genes involved in the related signaling pathways in a dose-dependent pattern. These data provide more insights into the molecular mechanisms of immune regulation in rats in response to dietary boron treatment.

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The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available in its supplementary information files.

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Funding

The work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32002160, 32172816, and 31672502), Anhui Provincial Major Science and Technology Special Program (17030701004, 201903a06020002), Excellent Young Talents Fund Program of Higher Education Institutions of Anhui Province (gxyqZD2019061), Chuzhou Science and Technology Plan (2019ZN003), the University Research Project of Anhui Province (KJ2020A0081, KJ2019A0801), Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation (2108085MC117, 2008085QC140), Anhui Provincial Collaborative Innovation Program (GXXT-2019–035), Foundation of Anhui Science and Technology University (DKYJ201901), and the Innovation Funds for Undergraduate Students of Anhui Province (S202010879109, S202010879120, 202110879059, S202110879175).

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  1. Chunfang Zhao and Yujiao Han contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Animal Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, No. 9 Donghua Road, Fengyang County, Chuzhou, Anhui Province, China

    Chunfang Zhao, Yujiao Han, Man Ren, Qianqian Hu, Youfang Gu, Pengfei Ye, Shenghe Li & Erhui Jin

  2. Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutritional Regulation and Health, No. 9, Donghua Road, Fengyang County, Chuzhou, Anhui Province, China

    Chunfang Zhao, Yujiao Han, Man Ren, Qianqian Hu, Youfang Gu, Pengfei Ye, Shenghe Li & Erhui Jin

  3. College of Life and Health Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, No. 9, Donghua Road, Fengyang County, Chuzhou, Anhui Province, China

    Chenfang Wang

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  1. Chunfang Zhao
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Contributions

CZ, SL and EJ designed the study. CZ and YH performed the experiments. CZ, YH, and CW wrote the manuscript. CZ, MR, and QH analyzed the data. YG, PY, SL, and EJ helped revise the manuscript. All authors discussed the data. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Shenghe Li or Erhui Jin.

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The use of all experimental animals was reviewed and approved by the Anhui Laboratory Animal Care Committee. All animal experimental procedures were performed in strict accordance with the Guide for Laboratory Animal Care and Use and complied with the Guide for National Laboratory Animal Healthcare and Use.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Zhao, C., Han, Y., Wang, C. et al. Transcriptome Profiling of Duodenum Reveals the Importance of Boron Supplementation in Modulating Immune Activities in Rats. Biol Trace Elem Res 200, 3762–3773 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02983-w

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