Page 33 - 《水产学报》2025年第10期

洪佳乐，等 水产学报, 2025, 49(10): 109602

β-conglycinin induces soybean meal-induced enteritis by dose-dependently
up-regulating Hif-1α expression, mitophagy and NLRP3 inflammasome
activity, and down-regulating AhR axis in hybrid yellow catfish

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HONG Jiale , ZHI Yujie , ZHANG Meina , WU Chengjia , ZHANG Zihao ,
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HUANG Xiaocheng , SU Ningning , YU Guangqing , DONG Pengsheng ,
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YANG Zhenjiang , LI Guoxi , LI Ming , XIE Shouqi , WU Guozhao , LIU Bianzhi 1*
1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China;
2. National Key Laboratory of Aquatic Species Creation and Efficient Aquaculture, Institute of Aquatic Biology,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430000, China;
3. Henan Provincial Aquatic Technology Promotion Station, Zhengzhou 450003, China
Abstract: To study the effects of mitochondrial autophagy and its mechanism in the development of soybean meal-induced
enteritis in hybrid yellow catfish(Pelteobagrus fulvidraco♀×Pelteobagrus vachelli♂). A total of 225 hybrid yellow catfish with
an initial body weight of (5.11 ± 0.52) g were randomly selected and divided into five treatment groups. β-conglycinin was
injected at dose of 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 mg/kg fish body weight into the hindgut of each respective group. After 24 h, hindgut
samples were collected for analysis of histopathology, mitochondrial damage, intestinal oxidative stress and inflammation
levels, and the expression levels of factors related to the AhR axis, NLRP3, and Hif-1α. β-conglycinin stimulation dose-depend-
ently induced significant histopathological injury, increased intestinal oxidative stress and inflammation levels in the hindgut of
hybrid yellow catfish, as evidenced by the shortened mucosal fold length, the widened lamina propria and submucosal layer,
inflammatory cell infiltration, and a significant up-regulation of hindgut ROS, MDA levels. The pro-inflammatory factors of il-
1β and tgf-α were significantly up-regulated, and the anti-inflammatory factors of il -10 and tgf-β were significantly down-regu-
lated. The microvilli of hindgut epithelial cells were shortened and the intercellular junctional gaps were widen dose-depend-
ently by β-conglycinin stimulation, accompanied by the down-regulated expressions of Zo-1 and Occludin. The intestinal bar-
rier function was does-dependently impaired by β-conglycinin. Further more, the mitochondria in the hindgut epithelial cells
exhibit swelling, fragmentation, and vacuolization, with markedly shortened or vanished cristae and severely compromised
double-membrane structures. The mRNA expression levels of mitochondrial autophagy-related genes (parkin, pink1, bnip3,
fundc1) and autophagy-associated genes (lc3a and lc3b) were significantly upregulated. The results of immunofluorescence
showed that the protein expression levels of voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1) and the lysosome-associated mem-
brane protein 2 (LAMP2), as well as the intensity of their co-localization, were significantly upregulated. The AhR axis were
inhibited and the axis of Hif-1α / NLRP3 were dose-dependently activted by β-conglycinin. β-conglycinin induced enteritis in
hybrid yellow catfish in a dose-dependent manner, accompained with the significently damaged mitochondrial structure, the
hyperactivated mitophagy of the hindgut epithelial cells, the down-regulated AhR axis and the up-regulated axis of Hif-1α /
NLRP3. These fundings suggest that the hyperactivated mitophagy in the hindgut epithelial cells of yellow catfish may serve as
the underlying mechanism for soybean meal-induced enteritis. Hif-1α may competitively inhibit AhR expression, ultimately
leading to hyperactivation of the mitophagy-NLRP3 pathway and exacerbating hindgut inflammation in hybrid yellow catfish.
The findings of this study offer a theoretical basis for identifying molecular regulatory targets to alleviated soybean meal-
induced enteritis in hybrid yellow catfish.
Key words: hybrid yellow catfish; soybean meal-induced enteritis; β-conglycinin; mitochondrial autophagy; aromatic hydro-
carbon receptor; hypoxia-inducible factor-1α
Corresponding author: LIU Bianzhi. E-mai: liubianzhi@126.com
Funding projects: Open Reseach Project of State Key Laboratory of Breeding Biotechnology and Sustainable Aquaculture
(2025BBSA11)； Natural Science Foundation of Henan province (252300420186)； the Science Research Key Project of
Henan Province (252102110056)

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