Effects of myostatin propeptide gene intervention on dyslipidemia in high fat diet-induced obese mice

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effects and the associated molecular mechanism of myostatin propeptide (MPRO) gene intervention on dyslipidemia in high fat diet-induced obese mice.Methods Sixty C57BL/6J mice were divided into four groups according to the random number table (15 mice in each group):normal control group (NC group),high fat diet group (HF group),high fat diet + green fluorescent protein group (HF + GFP group) and high fat diet + MPRO group (HF + MPRO group).Mice were fed with high fat diet to induce obesity and dyslipidemia.Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) mediated MPRO or GFP gene were introduced to the mnice,and their body weight,subcutaneous and visceral fat,as well as triglyceride in plasma and liver were measured.The expression of AMP-activated protein kinase α (AMPKαα),acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT-1) were detected by Western blot.Results Compared with NC group,body weight,subcutaneous and visceral fat,triglyceride in plasma and liver were significantly increased in HF group (t =9.033-35.459,all P ＜ 0.05).However,these were lower in HF + MPRO group than those in HF group (t =5.233-21.500,all P ＜0.05).Western blot demonstrated that compared with NC group,the phosphorylation of AMPKα and ACC as well as the expression of CPT-1 were lower in HF group (t =16.630-21.502,all P ＜ 0.05).However,these were higher in HF + MPRO group than those in HF group (t =8.143-10.314,all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion MPRO gene intervention attenuates dyslipidemia in obese mice partly through AMPK pathway. Key words: Myostatin propeptide; Myostatin; High fat diet; Obesity