Abstract:
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis plays an important role in stress response. However, in Suhuai sows, the relationship between glucocorticoid and oxidative stress is not yet understood. We found that malondialdehyde (MDA) level was increased, whereas the activity of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), were decreased after ACTH treatment in Suhuai sow. Moreover, glutathione (GSH) level and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) were also decreased upon ACTH treatment. Moreover, we found that mRNA expression levels of antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, CAT, and GPX, were down-regulated in the ACTH group. We observed that the mRNA expression of glucocorticoid-responsive elements (GRE) such as CXCR4, DUSP1, IL7R, TXNIP, and Fkbp5 were upregulated, whereas DNA methylation in intron 6 of Fkbp5 was reduced by ACTH administration. Hence, our findings suggest that ACTH induces oxidative stress and increases the expression level of Fkbp5 by decreasing DNA methylation in the GRE region in Suhuai sow.