Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Unusual Localized Skin Laxity in Sika Deer (Cervus nippon)

Cutis laxa represents a heterogeneous group of rare, inherited, or acquired connective tissue disorders with the common feature of loose and redundant skin with decreased elasticity. The skin of affected deer showed abnormal collagen fiber morphology. To identify the differentially expressed genes of the unusual localized skin laxity in sika deer, we performed transcriptome analysis in the affected and control sika deer. The transcriptome analysis showed 700 genes with significant differential expression in the affected skin as compared with normal skin. Pathway analysis revealed an enrichment of genes involved in tumor necrosis factor signaling, the extracellular matrix-receptor interaction, platelet activation, and Huntington's disease. A gene network was constructed, and the hub nodes such as PTGS2, THBS1, COL1A1, FOS, and NOS3 were found through PPI network analysis, which may contributed to the unusual localized skin laxity in sika deer. Abnormal expression patterns of genes during the development of the affected sika deer were successfully uncovered in the present study, which provides a reference for revealing the related mechanism underlying cutis laxa in sika deer and human beings.