Cold Exposure Regulates Hepatic Glycogen and Lipid Metabolism in Newborn Goats

Abstract

Cold exposure influences liver metabolism, thereby affecting energy homeostasis. However, the gene regulatory network of the liver after cold exposure remains poorly understood. In this study, we found that 24 h cold exposure (COLD, 6 °C) increased plasma glucose (GLU) levels, while reducing plasma non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) and triglyceride (TG) levels compared to the room temperature (RT, 25 °C) group. Cold exposure increased hepatic glycogen content and decreased hepatic lipid content in the livers of newborn goats. We conducted RNA-seq analysis on the livers of newborn goats in both the RT and cold exposure groups. A total of 1600 genes were identified as differentially expressed genes (DEGs), of which 555 genes were up-regulated and 1045 genes were down-regulated in the cold exposure group compared with the RT group. Cold exposure increased the expression of genes involved in glycolysis, glycogen synthesis, and fatty acid degradation pathways. These results can provide a reference for hepatic lipid and glycogen metabolism in newborn goats after cold exposure.