UFMylation is associated with LPS‐induced inflammatory response in goat endometrial epithelial cells

The endometrium plays an important role in the defence against invading pathogens, although the mechanisms are not clear. UFMylation is a recently discovered novel ubiquitination‐like modification system that plays a pivotal role in inflammation and the immune response. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of UFMylation on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced inflammatory responses in immortalized goat endometrial epithelial cells (gEECs). Ubiquitin‐fold modifier conjugating enzyme 1 (UFM1) and DDRGK domain containing 1 (DDRGK1) were mainly localized in the luminal epithelium and glandular epithelium of mouse and goat endometrial tissues. The expression levels of UFM1, ubiquitin‐like modifier activating enzyme 5 (UBA5), UFM1 specific ligase 1 (UFL1) and DDRGK1, as key components of the UFMylation system, were significantly activated by 5 μg/mL LPS‐induced inflammatory response in gEECs for 6 hr. Meanwhile, the expression levels of interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) were significantly upregulated, and tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) was significantly down‐regulated after overexpression of UFM1 in gEECs. Additionally, we observed UFM1 and DDRGK1 were markedly increased on LPS‐stimulated mouse endometritis in vivo. In conclusion, the current study demonstrated that UFMylation was significantly activated by LPS and might be involved in regulating inflammatory response in gEECs.