Effects of Heat Stress and Antioxidants on Dermal Fibroblast Cells of Buffalo

Abstract

High ambient temperature affects buffalo production and reproduction notably. Dermal fibroblasts are the most common cell element of the dermis that is crucial for temperature homeostasis. A limited number of data is available now on the heat stress response of fibroblast cells in buffaloes. The present research aimed to evaluate the mRNA expression pattern of various heat stress proteins (HSPs) in response to heat stress and to study the effects of zinc and vitamin C activities regarding thermal stress in Murrah buffalo. The primary fibroblast cells of Murrah buffalo were identified by FSP1 and FN_1 primers using the PCR method. The buffalo fibroblast cells were pretreated with zinc and vitamin C and exposed to heat stress conditions at 42°C for three hours. To assess post-heat stress effects in buffalo fibroblast cells, cells were harvested at different time intervals. The heat stress resulted in an overall decrease in cell viability of culture, and the test was highly significant. Zinc propagated cells had higher cell viability than the cells pretreated with vitamin C. The expression studies of HSPs indicated that all HSPs (HSPA1A, HSPA2, HSPA8, and HSP90AA1) were induced after heat stress and remained upregulated during the post-heat stress periods. Among them, the HSPA2 gene depicted maximal induction across post-heat stress periods. Zinc treatment caused a fall in HSPAIA, HSPA8, and HSP90AA1 concentration in dermal fibroblast cells compared to vitamin C.