Transcriptome Profiles in Pig Spleens with Divergent Peripheral Blood T Lymphocyte Subsets

Divergent hematological traits in swine may confer physiological differences, so we studied transcriptome profiles in spleens of Yorkshire pigs with different peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets. The results showed that 2050 differentially expressed transcripts were identified, with 1554 up-regulated and 496 up-regulated in high and low T lymphocyte groups, respectively. Among differentially expressed genes, IL1B, IL17F, IL6R, CXCL2, CCL20 and CCL25 were selected based on their immunological functions and CD8B and CD81 may contribute to variations of blood T lymphocyte subsets. Gene ontology analysis revealed that differential gene expression involved in biological processes, including the G-protein coupled receptor protein signaling pathway, intrinsic to membrane, cell junction and ion transport. KEGG pathway analysis showed that the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction was significantly enriched. The results offer a foundation for exploration of immune functions and genetic control of peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets. Also, several differentially expressed immune-related genes may be candidate genes for disease resistance breeding in pigs.