Circulating exosomes may identify biomarkers for cows at risk for metabolic dysfunction

• Published in: Scientific reports 2019-09, Vol.9 (1), p.13879-12, Article 13879
• Main Authors: Almughlliq, Fatema B., Koh, Yong Q., Peiris, Hassendrini N., Vaswani, Kanchan, Holland, Olivia, Meier, Susanne, Roche, John R., Burke, Chris R., Crookenden, Mallory A., Arachchige, Buddhika J., Reed, Sarah, Mitchell, Murray D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 13; 13/106; 13/51; 3-Hydroxybutyric Acid - metabolism; 38/77; 631/61/350/354; 631/80/86/820; 82/58; Activin; Animals; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - blood; Biomarkers - metabolism; Cattle; Dairy cattle; Endometrium; Endometrium - metabolism; Epithelial Cells - metabolism; Exosomes; Exosomes - metabolism; Female; Fertility; Gene expression; Gene Expression - physiology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Inhibin; Lactation; Liver - metabolism; Metabolic Diseases - blood; Metabolic Diseases - metabolism; Metabolic disorders; Metabolism; multidisciplinary; Pregnancy; Prostaglandin E2; Proteomes; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Triglycerides - metabolism
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-50244-7

Disease susceptibility of dairy cows is greatest during the transition from pregnancy to lactation. Circulating exosomes may provide biomarkers to detect at-risk cows to enhance health and productivity. From 490 cows, animals at high- (n = 20) or low-risk (n = 20) of transition-related diseases were identified using plasma non-esterified fatty acid and β-hydroxybutyrate concentrations and liver triacylglyceride concentrations during the two weeks post-calving. We isolated circulating exosomes from plasma of dairy cows at low-risk (LR-EXO) and high-risk (HR-EXO), and analyzed their proteome profiles to determine markers for metabolic dysfunction. We evaluated the effects of these exosomes on eicosanoid pathway expression by bovine endometrial stromal (bCSC) and epithelial (bEEL) cells. HR-EXO had significantly lower yield of circulating exosomes compared with LR-EXO, and unique proteins were identified in HR-EXO and LR-EXO. Exposure to LR-EXO or HR-EXO differentially regulated eicosanoid gene expression and production in bCSC and bEEL cells. In bCSC, LR-EXO exposure increased PGE 2 and PGD 2 production, whereas HR-EXO exposure increased PTGS2 gene expression. In bEEL, HR-EXO exposure caused a decrease in PGE 2, PGF 2α , PGD 2 , PGFM and TXB 2 production. The unique presence of serpin A3-7, coiled-coil domain containing 88A and inhibin/activin β A chain in HR-EXO, indicates potential biomarkers for cows at-risk for metabolic diseases. Our results are in line with the health status of the cow indicating a potential diagnostic role for exosomes in enhancing cows’ health and fertility.