Chengcheng Kong

N-hexane, a common industrial organic solvent, causes multiple organ damage owing to its metabolite, 2,5-hexanedione (2,5-HD). To identify and evaluate the effects of 2,5-HD on sows’ reproductive performance, we used porcine ovarian granulosa cells (pGCs) as a vehicle and carried out cell morphology and transcriptome analyses. 2,5-HD has the potential to inhibit the proliferation of pGCs and induce morphological changes and apoptosis depending on the dose. RNA-seq analyses identified 4817 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with 2394 down-regulated and 2423 up-regulated following 2,5-HD exposure treatment. The DEG, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (CDKN1A), according to the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis, was significantly enriched in the p53 signaling pathway. Thus, we evaluated its function in pGC apoptosis in vitro. Then, we knocked down the CDKN1A gene in the pGCs to identify its effects on pGCs. Its knockdown decreased pGC apoptosis, with significantly fewer cells in the G1 phase (p < 0.05) and very significantly more cells in the S phase (p < 0.01). Herein, we revealed novel candidate genes that influence pGCs apoptosis and cell cycle and provided new insights into the role of CDKN1A in pGCs during apoptosis and cell cycle arrest.