Abstract
The fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene plays an important role in adipogenesis. However, its function during porcine intramuscular preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation remains poorly understood. In this study, we prepared the antiserum against porcine FTO (pFTO), which was used to determine its subcellular localization and tissue distribution. Our data indicated that pFTO was localized predominantly in the nucleus. Real-time quantitative PCR and western blot analysis showed that pFTO was highly expressed in the lung and subcutaneous adipose tissue. Overexpression of pFTO in porcine intramuscular preadipocytes significantly promoted cell proliferation and lipid deposition. Furthermore, overexpression of pFTO in differentiating porcine intramuscular preadipocytes also significantly increased the mRNA levels of adipocyte differentiation transcription factors peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α (C/EBPα), lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and fatty acid synthase (FAS). Our findings provide the first functional evidence to reveal a role of pFTO in porcine intramuscular preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation.
Highlights
Pork quality is becoming a major concern for the swine industry due to the development of export markets and increased consumer demands [1]
The polyclonal antibody against the porcine FTO (pFTO) protein binded to pFTO, which indicated that the antibody was specific and sensitive as a tool for further study the subcellular localization and physiological function of pFTO
Here we found that the pFTO protein was localized predominantly to the nucleus of porcine intramuscular preadipocytes, consistent with previous reports [24,25,26]
Summary
Pork quality is becoming a major concern for the swine industry due to the development of export markets and increased consumer demands [1]. Intramuscular fat (IMF) is one of the important factors influencing meat quality, which shows a positive correlation with the meat quality traits such as the flavor, tenderness, juiciness and water holding capacity [2, 3]. IMF content could be modulated by some key genes [4]. It is necessary to identify candidate genes related to IMF content in the pig. In 2007, the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene was discovered and found to be significantly associated with both children and adults obesity [5].
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