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Health of the Ovaries, Uterus, and Mammary Glands in Animals
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Health of the Ovaries, Uterus, and Mammary Glands in Animals

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Reproduction".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2026) | Viewed by 3213

Editors

Dr. Diqi Yang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Interests: reproduction; endocrine; metabolism; toxicology
Dr. Xiaoyu Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China
Interests: intestinal flora; mammitis; hysteritis; dysreproductive disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The health of the ovaries, uterus, and mammary glands is of paramount importance in livestock production. These organs are crucial in successful reproduction, lactation, and overall animal well-being. Optimal reproductive function directly translates to improved fertility rates, increased milk yields, and enhanced economic viability in livestock operations. However, various factors, including genetic predisposition, nutritional deficiencies, infectious diseases, and environmental stressors, can significantly compromise the health of these vital organs. This can lead to a cascade of negative consequences, such as infertility, embryonic mortality, reduced milk production, and increased susceptibility to other diseases. Consequently, understanding the complex interplay of factors that influence reproductive health and developing effective strategies to enable its maintenance are critical in ensuring sustainability and profitability in modern livestock farming.

This Special Issue will provide a platform for researchers to share their latest findings on the physiology, pathology, and management of the female reproductive system in livestock species. We invite submissions addressing fundamental and applied aspects of reproductive biology, including the impact of genetic, nutritional, and environmental factors, the development of novel diagnostic tools, the evaluation of therapeutic interventions, and the pathogenesis and treatment of female reproductive disorders.

Dr. Diqi Yang
Dr. Xiaoyu Hu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • livestock reproduction
  • reproductive health
  • ovary
  • uterus
  • mammary gland
  • reproductive diseases
  • fertility
  • lactation
  • animal welfare

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

31 pages, 21851 KB  
Article
Effects of Water Avoidance Stress as a Psychological Stress Model and Coenzyme Q10 on Reproductive, Endocrine, and Ovarian Responses in Adult Female Rats
by Ahmet Yardimci, Tugrul Ertugrul, Ebru Gokdere, Feyza Keskin Buyukbudak, Meryem Sedef Dogru, Ahmet Tektemur, Zeliha Irem Turk, Nazife Ulker Ertugrul, Serife Tutuncu and Sinan Canpolat
Animals 2026, 16(13), 2093; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16132093 - 6 Jul 2026
Viewed by 430
Abstract
Psychological stress can affect female reproductive function through behavioral, endocrine, ovarian, and oxidative mechanisms. Antioxidant supplements have therefore attracted attention for their potential to mitigate stress-related reproductive alterations. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a lipid-soluble quinone involved in mitochondrial energy metabolism and is widely [...] Read more.
Psychological stress can affect female reproductive function through behavioral, endocrine, ovarian, and oxidative mechanisms. Antioxidant supplements have therefore attracted attention for their potential to mitigate stress-related reproductive alterations. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a lipid-soluble quinone involved in mitochondrial energy metabolism and is widely used as a dietary supplement. However, whether CoQ10 modulates female reproductive responses to repeated psychological stress remains unclear. Although water avoidance stress (WAS) is a well-established psychogenic stress model, its effects on female reproductive outcomes are still not fully defined. In this study, we examined how repeated WAS affects female reproductive outcomes and whether CoQ10 modifies these effects. Twenty-eight regularly cycling female rats were assigned to sham control, WAS, CoQ10, or WAS + CoQ10 groups. WAS was applied for 1 h/day for 10 days, and CoQ10 was administered orally at 100 mg/kg/day. Repeated WAS did not significantly alter sexual incentive motivation parameters, reproductive hormones, corticosterone, total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), or mast cell count under the present experimental conditions (all p > 0.05). However, WAS reduced male-directed active investigation time (p = 0.008) and male investigation preference ratio (p = 0.024), increased absolute ovarian and adrenal gland weights (p = 0.035 and p = 0.016, respectively), reduced primordial follicle number (p = 0.030), decreased germinative epithelium thickness (p = 0.017), lowered VEGF histoscore (p = 0.033) regardless of CoQ10 treatment, and reduced corpus luteum angiogenesis in animals not receiving CoQ10 (p = 0.030). CoQ10 reduced total investigation time toward the male (p = 0.032), male investigation preference ratio (p = 0.037), 17-β estradiol (E2) (p = 0.003), testosterone (p = 0.021), and germinative epithelium thickness (p < 0.001) regardless of WAS exposure. CoQ10 also decreased kisspeptin-1 levels under non-stressed conditions (p = 0.010), while increasing corpus luteum angiogenesis under stress conditions (p = 0.003). Overall, repeated WAS produced selective behavioral and ovarian alterations rather than broad reproductive dysfunction. CoQ10 was not associated with a broadly protective or uniformly beneficial profile in this model, and its endocrine, behavioral, and ovarian effects should be interpreted with caution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health of the Ovaries, Uterus, and Mammary Glands in Animals)
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19 pages, 5882 KB  
Article
Disruption of Trib1 Results in Granulosa Cells Steroid Hormone Synthesis Dysfunction and Infertility in Female Mice via Downregulations of FOSL2 Expression
by Weibing Lv, Dan Zhao, Xinmiao Li, Gaga Shama, Hanzhuo Hu, Yilin Fan, Xianrong Xiong, Shi Yin, Jian Li and Yan Xiong
Animals 2026, 16(8), 1172; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16081172 - 11 Apr 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 584
Abstract
Proper steroid hormone synthesis is essential for maintaining fertility in female animals. Tribbles pseudokinase 1 (Trib1), a member of the Tribbles pseudokinase family, exerts its functions mainly through interacting with other molecules. Numerous studies have shown that Trib1 plays a central [...] Read more.
Proper steroid hormone synthesis is essential for maintaining fertility in female animals. Tribbles pseudokinase 1 (Trib1), a member of the Tribbles pseudokinase family, exerts its functions mainly through interacting with other molecules. Numerous studies have shown that Trib1 plays a central role in regulating cell proliferation. In mammals, the proliferation of granulosa cells (GCs) is a hallmark event in follicular development, which is essential for follicular maturation and successful ovulation. However, whether Trib1 regulates ovarian steroid hormone synthesis remains largely unexplored. In this study, we found that Trib1 is predominantly expressed in ovarian GCs. Knockdown of Trib1 in GCs significantly reduced their capacity for steroid hormone synthesis. Furthermore, Trib1 KO female mice were completely infertile, exhibiting impaired transition from primary to antral follicles, increased follicle atresia, and defective steroid hormone secretion. Ovarian RNA-Seq analysis revealed that differential expressed genes (DEGs) were significantly enriched in cholesterol metabolism and steroid biosynthesis pathways following Trib1 deletion. Notably, FOSL2, a transcription factor that potentially bound to the promoters of the pivotal steroidogenic genes Star and Cyp11a1, was significantly down-regulated in Trib1 KO mice. Crucially, overexpression of FOSL2 in Trib1-deficient GCs restored Star and Cyp11a1 expression and significantly rescued the ability of steroid hormone synthesis in GCs. Our findings unveil a novel Trib1 gene governing steroidogenesis in GCs and is essential for fertility in female mice, providing profound insights into the female reproductive endocrinology and potential therapeutic targets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health of the Ovaries, Uterus, and Mammary Glands in Animals)
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13 pages, 12971 KB  
Article
The Role of Gonadotropins and Growth Factor in Regulating Ras During Maturation in Cumulus–Oocyte Complexes of Pigs
by Eunju Seok, Minyoung Son, Seunghyung Lee, Hee-Tae Cheong and Sang-Hee Lee
Animals 2025, 15(14), 2100; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15142100 - 16 Jul 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1332
Abstract
Oocytes and cumulus cells undergo meiotic resumption and proliferation via gonadotropins and growth factors during maturation, and various small G proteins are activated when COCs undergo physiological changes. This study investigated the influence of gonadotropins and growth factors on Ras and its GTPases [...] Read more.
Oocytes and cumulus cells undergo meiotic resumption and proliferation via gonadotropins and growth factors during maturation, and various small G proteins are activated when COCs undergo physiological changes. This study investigated the influence of gonadotropins and growth factors on Ras and its GTPases during porcine COC maturation. Unmatured COCs were treated with FSH, LH, or EGF for 44 h. The mRNA expression levels of the Ras subfamily (H-Ras, K-Ras, N-Ras, and R-Ras), its GTPases (RASA1 and SOS1), and proliferation factors (ERK, CCNB1, and Cdc2) were analyzed using RT-PCR. In contrast to other Ras subfamilies, R-Ras expression is upregulated during COC maturation. We evaluated the effects of FSH, LH, and EGF at various concentrations that most effectively regulated the expression of R-Ras and GTPases. The results demonstrated that 0.5 µg/mL FSH, 10 IU/mL human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and 10 ng/mL EGF effectively enhanced R-Ras expression and cell proliferation. FSH supplementation during porcine COC maturation significantly upregulated R-Ras and ERK expression, independent of LH and EGF, and downregulated Cdc2 expression. These results indicated that FSH regulates R-Ras expression, thereby promoting cell proliferation during COC maturation. These results provide fundamental knowledge for understanding the role of Ras and its family members in the development of follicular environments in pigs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health of the Ovaries, Uterus, and Mammary Glands in Animals)
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