Abstract：Valproic acid (VPA) as a histone deacetylase inhibitor, can specifically inhibit the histone deacetylase activity and increase histone acetylation, and can affect gene expression in somatic cells. In this research, the effect of VPA on bovine fetal fibroblast cell growth, cell cycle and gene expression were studied. The bovine (Bos taurus) fetal fibroblasts cells were treated with different concentrations (0.8, 1.0 and 2.0 mmol/L) of VPA for 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively, then cell proliferation and cell cycle were examined by flow cytometry, and the expression of transcriptional factors such as octamer binding factor 4 (Oct4)，Nanog homeobox (Nanog), and caudal-related homeodomain protein 2 (Cdx2) were detected by Real-time PCR. The results showed that cell growth gradually decelerated with the increase of VPA concentration, cells were mostly arrested at gap0/gap1(G0/G1) phase after treatment. The expression of Oct4 and Nanog genes were improved, while Cdx2 gene expression was reduced. This study showed that VPA treatment affected cell growth, cell cycle, and gene expression of bovine fetal fibroblast cells, which could be benefit to the study on reprogramming of somatic cell after nuclear transfer and embryo development.
