Abstract
Simple SummaryOur study demonstrated that bta-miR-376a negatively regulates adipocyte proliferation and differentiation by targeting the adipogenesis signaling pathway and is thus a novel regulator of development in Qinchuan beef cattle. These findings contribute to a better understanding of adipogenesis regulated by miRNA and provide an important reference for studies on beef intramuscular fat.Intramuscular fat (IMF) is a quality index associated with the taste and juiciness of meat. The deposition of IMF is affected by genetic and non-genetic factors, such as age, slaughter location, gender of the animal, and diet. Micro-ribonucleic acids (miRNA) are transcriptional regulators involved in adipogenesis, but the specific role of miR-376a in regulation of bovine adipocytes remains unknown. Our findings indicated that miR-376a was a potential negative regulator of bovine adipocyte differentiation. A bta-miR-376a mimic inhibited mRNA and protein expression of the marker genes, CDK1, CDK2, PCNA, C/EBPα, FAS, and PPAR γ, and significantly reduced ratios (%) of S-phase cells, the number of cells stained with 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine, and adipocyte proliferation. Oil red O staining and triglyceride content analysis also confirmed that bta-miR-376a was involved in adipocyte differentiation. Luciferase activities confirmed that Krüppel-like transcription factor 15 (KLF15) was a direct target gene of bta-miR-376a, and that KLF15 was a key transcription factor in adipogenesis. Therefore, bta-miR-376a might be a target for increasing beef IMF.
Highlights
With the continuous growth of the world’s population and the improvement of living standards, insufficient production quality and quantity of animal-derived protein products have become the main problems facing world animal husbandry development
We investigated bta-miR-376a expression in preadipocytes from Qinchuan beef cattle
We found active bta-miR-376a expression during the proliferation stage of bovine preadipocytes (p ≤ 0.001), which gradually decreased until day 6, reached the nadir on day 8, and began to increase (Figure 1b), reaching a peak at the completion of adipocyte differentiation on day 12
Summary
With the continuous growth of the world’s population and the improvement of living standards, insufficient production quality and quantity of animal-derived protein products have become the main problems facing world animal husbandry development. The study of fat deposition of Qinchuan cattle, a Chinese cattle breed which is famous for its fine texture of meat and relatively slow growth, will provide a new basis and ideas for beef cattle breed improvement, meat quality, and beef production [1]. The adipose tissue exerts a profound impact on physiology and pathophysiology [2]. It comprises various types of adipocytes, participates in the regulation of physiological and metabolic processes, and stores energy [3]. The main types of fat in mammals are intermuscular, intramuscular, subcutaneous, and peripheral
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