Endometrial infections at a young age can lead to fertility issues in adulthood. Bacterial endotoxins, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), can participate in long-term molecular changes even at low concentrations. Lipopolysaccharide plays a crucial role in the progression of septic shock, inflammation and auto-immune diseases. The aim of this study was to describe transcriptomic modulations in the porcine endometrium, induced in vivo by a single subclinical dose of LPS from Salmonella Enteritidis. which did not produce clinical symptoms of toxicity. The RNA-seq methodology was applied to reveal 456 differentially expressed regions, including 375 genes, four long noncoding RNAs, and 77 other unclassified transcripts. Two independent methods confirmed 118 alternatively spliced genes that participate i.a., in the formation of the MHC-I complex and the adaptive immune response. Single nucleotide variant-calling algorithms supported the identification of 3730 allele-specific expression variants and 57 canonical A-to-I RNA editing sites. The results demonstrated that the differential expression of genes involved in inflammation, immune response, angiogenesis and endometrial development may be maintained for up to 7 days after exposure to LPS. RNA editing sites and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in transcriptional regulatory machinery in the porcine endometrium in response to LPS administration.
Keywords: LPS; RNA editing; RNA-seq; Sus scrofa; alternative splicing; endometrium.