Vitamin C Alleviates Heat-Stress-Induced Damages in Pig Thoracic Vertebral Chondrocytes via the Ubiquitin-Mediated Proteolysis Pathway
Xiaoyang Yang,
Yabiao Luo,
Mingming Xue,
Shuheng Chan,
Yubei Wang,
Lixian Yang,
Longmiao Zhang,
Yuxuan Xie,
Meiying Fang
Affiliations
Xiaoyang Yang
China Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Yabiao Luo
China Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Mingming Xue
China Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Shuheng Chan
China Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Yubei Wang
China Sanya Institute, China Agricultural University, Sanya 572025, China
Lixian Yang
China Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Longmiao Zhang
China Sanya Institute, China Agricultural University, Sanya 572025, China
Yuxuan Xie
China Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Meiying Fang
China Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Heat stress can impair organismal growth by inducing ubiquitination, proteasome-mediated degradation, and subsequent cellular damage. Vitamin C (VC) has been shown to potentially mitigate the detrimental effects of abiotic stresses on cells. Nevertheless, the impact of heat stress on growth plate chondrocytes remains unclear, and the underlying protective mechanisms of VC in these cells warrant further investigation. In this study, we focused on pig thoracic vertebral chondrocytes (PTVCs) that are crucial for promoting the body’s longitudinal elongation and treated them with 41 °C heat stress for 24 h, under varying concentrations of VC. Our findings reveal that, while oxidative stress induced by heat triggers apoptosis and inhibits the ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis pathway, the addition of VC alleviates heat-stress-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis, mitigates cell cycle arrest, and promotes cellular viability. Furthermore, we demonstrate that VC enhances the ubiquitin-proteasome proteolysis pathway by promoting the expression of ubiquitin protein ligase E3A, which thereby stabilizes the ubiquitin-mediated degradation machinery, alleviates the apoptosis, and enhances cell proliferation. Our results suggest the involvement of the ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis pathway in the effects of VC on PTVCs under heat stress, and offer a potential strategy to make use of VC to ensure the skeletal growth of animals under high temperature pressures in summer or in tropical regions.
