Adiponectin inhibits GnRH secretion via activating AMPK and PI3K signaling pathways in chicken hypothalamic neuron cells

Xing Wu; Yiqing Tao; Yangguang Ren; Zihao Zhang; Yudian Zhao; Yixiang Tian; Yijie Li; Meng Hou; Yulong Guo; Yujie Gong; Yanhua Zhang; Donghua Li; Hong Li; Ruirui Jiang; Guoxi Li; Xiaojun Liu; Xiangtao Kang; Yadong Tian

doi:10.1016/j.psj.2023.103028

Adiponectin inhibits GnRH secretion via activating AMPK and PI3K signaling pathways in chicken hypothalamic neuron cells

Poult Sci. 2023 Nov;102(11):103028. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2023.103028. Epub 2023 Aug 16.

Authors

Xing Wu¹, Yiqing Tao¹, Yangguang Ren¹, Zihao Zhang¹, Yudian Zhao¹, Yixiang Tian², Yijie Li¹, Meng Hou¹, Yulong Guo¹, Yujie Gong³, Yanhua Zhang³, Donghua Li³, Hong Li³, Ruirui Jiang³, Guoxi Li³, Xiaojun Liu³, Xiangtao Kang³, Yadong Tian⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China.
² College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang 453003, China.
³ College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China; Henan Key Laboratory for Innovation and Utilization of Chicken Germplasm Resources, Zhengzhou 450046, China.
⁴ College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China; Henan Key Laboratory for Innovation and Utilization of Chicken Germplasm Resources, Zhengzhou 450046, China. Electronic address: tianyadong@henau.edu.cn.

Abstract

It has been reported that adiponectin (AdipoQ), an adipokine secreted by white adipose tissue, plays an important role in the control of animal reproduction in addition to its function in energy homeostasis by binding to its receptors AdipoR1/2. However, the molecular mechanisms of AdipoQ in the regulation of animal reproduction remain elusive. In this study, we investigated the effects of AdipoQ on hypothalamic reproductive hormone (GnRH) secretion and reproduction-related receptor gene (estrogen receptor [ER] and progesterone receptor [PR]) expression in hypothalamic neuronal cells (HNCs) of chickens by using real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Western blot (WB) and cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assays and found that overexpression of AdipoQ could increase the expression levels of AdipoR1/2 and reproduction-related receptor genes (P < 0.05) while decreasing the expression level of GnRH. In contrast, interference with AdipoQ mRNA showed the opposite results in HNCs. Furthermore, we demonstrated that AdipoQ exerts its functions through the AMPK and PI3K signaling pathways. Finally, our in vitro experiments found that AdipoRon (a synthetic substitute for AdipoQ) treatment and AdipoR1/2 RNAi interference co-treatment resulted in no effect on GnRH secretion, suggesting that the inhibition of GnRH secretion by AdipoQ is mediated by the AdipoR1/2 signaling axis. In summary, we uncovered, for the first time, the molecular mechanism of AdipoQ in the regulation of reproductive hormone secretion in hypothalamic neurons in chickens.

Keywords: AMPK; PI3K; adiponectin; chicken; primary hypothalamus neuronal cell.