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. 2023 Jan 9:11:e14556.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.14556. eCollection 2023.

Differences in histomorphology and expression of key lipid regulated genes of four adipose tissues from Tibetan pigs

Chenghong Lin  1 , Zexia Dong  1 , Jia Song  1 , Sutian Wang  2 , Ying Yang  1 , Hua Li  1 , Zheng Feng  1 , Yangli Pei  1
Affiliations

Differences in histomorphology and expression of key lipid regulated genes of four adipose tissues from Tibetan pigs

Chenghong Lin et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

Tibetan pigs, an indigenous pig breed in China, have high overall fat deposition and flavorful and tasty meat. They are thus good models for studying adipogenesis. Few studies have been conducted focusing on expression of lipid regulated genes in different adipose tissues of Tibetan pigs. Therefore, we compared the difference of histomorphology and expression level of lipid regulated genes through qPCR and western blot in subcutaneous fat, perirenal fat, omental adipose tissue, and inguinal fat of Tibetan pigs. Our results showed that the area of subcutaneous adipocytes in Tibetan pigs was smaller, while the other three adipose tissues (perirenal fat, greater omentum fat, inguinal fat) had cell areas of similar size. The gene expression of FABP4, FASN, FABP3, and ME1 in subcutaneous fat was significantly higher than that in perirenal fat. Furthermore, the protein expression of FABP4 was significantly lower in subcutaneous fat than in perirenal fat (p < 0.05), and the expression of FASN was higher in greater omentum fat than in subcutaneous fat (p = 0.084). The difference in adipocyte cell size and expression of lipid-regulated genes in adipose tissues from the various parts of the pig body is likely due to the different cellular lipid metabolic processes. Specially, FABP4 and FASN may be involved in the regulation of fat deposition in different adipose tissues of Tibetan pigs.

Keywords: Adipocyte; C/EBPβ; FABP; Greater omentum fat; Inguinal fat; PPARγ; Perirenal fat; Subcutaneous white adipose tissue; Tibetan pig.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Representative pictures of HE staining of different adipose tissues.
(A) HE staining of subcutaneous adipose tissue, (B) perirenal adipose tissue, (C) omental adipose tissue, (D) inguinal adipose tissue. Scale bars, 100 μm.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Assessment of adipocyte area in four adipose tissues.
Assessment of adipocyte area in four adipose tissues. Each column represents the mean ± SEM (n = 7). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Validation of mRNA level of transcription factor genes.
(A) Expression of PPARγ; expression of C/EBPβ (B). Each column represents mean ± SEM (n = 5). Subcutaneous fat (SF), perirenal fat (PF), greater omentum fat (GOF), inguinal fat (IF). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Validation of mRNA levels of fatty acid transportation genes.
(A) Expression of FABP3; (B) expression of FABP4; (C) expression of FABP5. Each column represents mean ± SEM (n = 5). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Validation of mRNA levels of lipogenesis genes.
(A) Expression of ACACA; (B) expression of FASN; (C) expression of ELOVL6; (D) expression of LPL; expression of ME1. Each column represents mean ± SEM (n = 5). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.
Figure 6
Figure 6. Validation of mRNA levels of fatty acid esterification genes.
(A) Expression of DGAT2; (B) expression of SCD. Each column represents mean ± SEM (n = 5). *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.005.
Figure 7
Figure 7. Expression of FASN and FABP4 proteins in four tissues.
(A and B) Expression of FASN protein in four tissues; (C and D) Expression of FABP4 protein in four tissues. Each column represents the mean ± SEM (n = 5).
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