Essential role of ATG7 in LPS-induced endometrial inflammatory injury in goats

Abstract

The economic losses caused by uterine infections in ruminants have received increasing attention. Autophagy-related 7 (ATG7) has been demonstrated to be capable of regulating apoptosis, but surprisingly, ATG7 can both promote and inhibit apoptosis in different cellular contexts. However, the role of ATG7 in endometrial cell apoptosis during the postpartum period remains unclear. Herein, the location and expression of ATG7 was determined after mice were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the uterus. The results showed that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) increased ATG7 expression in endometrial epithelial cells (EECs) but not endometrial stromal cells. The apoptosis of goat EECs was increased under LPS treatment, and LPS further led to an increase in bax expression and a decline in bcl-2 expression in goat EECs. Silencing of ATG7 inhibited goat EEC apoptosis with LPS treatment. The role of ATG7 in the regulation of goat EEC apoptosis was further confirmed by overexpression. ATG7 may serve as an essential regulatory factor in the process of endometrial epithelial cell apoptosis in ruminants under inflammatory injury. The findings help elucidate the pathogenesis of postpartum endometritis in ruminants.