Butyrate inhibits the bovine rumen epithelial cell proliferation via downregulation of positive regulators at G0/G1 phase checkpoint

Short-chain fatty acids(SCFAs)butyrate promote the postnatal rumen epithelial development and maturation in ruminants.However,molecular mechanisms of effects of butyrate on the bovine rumen epithelial cells(BRECs)proliferation remain elusive.Therefore,purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of butyrate on the expression of genes and proteins at G0/G1 and S phase of BRECs cycle.Our results showed that BRECs treated with butyrate inhibited(P<0.05)the proliferation of BRECs,relatively to control.Flow cytometric assays revealed that butyrate triggers the BRECs cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase.qRT-PCR analyses of mRNA level of genes involved in the G0/G1 phase of cell cycle showed that butyrate significantly upregulated(P<0.001)the expression of mRNA encoding p21^(Cip1)compared with control group,but it decreased(P<0.05)the mRNA levels of cyclin D1 and CDK4 genes at G0/G1 phase checkpoint compared with control.Moreover,Western blot also revealed that butyrate downregulated the expression of cyclin D3,CDK6,p-Rb,and E2F1 proteins involved in the modulation of G0/G1 phase of cell cycle.In conclusion,our results demonstrated that butyrate inhibits the proliferation of BRECs via downregulation of positive regulators at G0/G1 phase checkpoint.