Chiang Mai Journal of Science

This study was conducted to screen genes related to hair growth of the Liaoning cashmere goats with fibroblast growth factor 5 (FGF5) treatments and study the molecular regulatory mechanisms of cashmere growth. FGF5 of different concentrations was used to treat skin fibroblasts of the Liaoning cashmere goats over several periods, and the total RNA of the fibroblasts was extracted. Subsequently, the expressed genes were screened by high-throughput sequencing, and the target genes were verified by qPCR. RNA-seq analysis showed that in the F4_24H, F4_72H, and F6_24H groups, 164, 189 and 123 transcripts were expressed in different amounts compared with the control group (group C). qPCR verification showed that the expression levels of OPN and ITGAV genes were up-regulated, which was consistent with the gene-sequencing analysis results obtained from F4_24H vs C group. The CCK-8 results showed that cell proliferation was the most pronounced in the F4_24H group. Therefore, FGF5 is verified to promote the proliferation of skin fibroblasts of Liaoning cashmere goats. Besides, in the F4_24H group, the OPN gene and its downstream ITGAV gene were demonstrated to enhance villus growth by regulating the ECM signaling pathway.