ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Genet.
Sec. Livestock Genomics
Potential effects on the signaling network mediated by overexpression of the vitronectin gene in Hu sheep ruminal epithelial cells using multi-omics analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Kashi University, Kashgar, China
- 2Jiangsu Agri-animal Husbandry Vocational College, Taizhou, China
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Vitronectin (VTN) is a multifunctional extracellular matrix protein involved in cell adhesion, migration, and signal transduction. In this study, we constructed and transfected a VTN overexpression vector in Hu sheep ruminal epithelial cells (RECs) and performed a multi-omics analysis integrating transcriptomics and metabolomics. Compared with controls, 495 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified (241 upregulated and 254 downregulated), primarily enriched in adhesion/mechanotransduction pathways such as ECM–receptor interaction and focal adhesion, as well as amino acid transport and membrane-related complexes; in contrast, translational preparatory processes including the spliceosome and aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis were suppressed. Metabolomics identified 103 differential metabolites (53 upregulated and 50 downregulated), prominently involving glycerophospholipid metabolism, nucleotide sugar biosynthesis, GPI-anchor biosynthesis, autophagy, and retrograde endocannabinoid signaling, indicating reinforced membrane lipid remodeling and membrane protein targeting. Multi-omics integration indicates that VTN, by remodeling ECM and membrane lipids, is associated with enhanced integrin– focal adhesion signaling and mechanotransduction, optimizes mitochondrial ATP production and energy utilization, and directs a programmed reconfiguration of lipid metabolism; concurrently, endocannabinoid-related pathways and "neurotransmission-like" signals such as NA–GABA were upregulated, providing an inhibitory/buffering tone against inflammation and environmental stress. Overall, VTN establishes a multilayered "adhesion–metabolism–repair" regulatory network that promotes rapid renewal and injury repair of RECs, offering a mechanistic basis and potential molecular targets for enhancing rumen function and production performance in ruminants.
Keywords: ADM, Hu sheep, Metabolome, Rumen epithelial cells, Transcriptome, VTN
Received: 06 Oct 2025; Accepted: 16 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Zhong, Ma, Ni, Subinur, Zhu, Yan and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Wei Yan
YuTao Wang
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