Interference with DGAT Gene Inhibited TAG Accumulation and Lipid Droplet Synthesis in Bovine Preadipocytes

Panpan Guo; Xuerui Yao; Xin Jin; Yongnan Xv; Junfang Zhang; Qiang Li; Changguo Yan; Xiangzi Li; Namhyung Kim

doi:10.3390/ani13132223

Interference with DGAT Gene Inhibited TAG Accumulation and Lipid Droplet Synthesis in Bovine Preadipocytes

Animals (Basel). 2023 Jul 6;13(13):2223. doi: 10.3390/ani13132223.

Authors

Panpan Guo^{1

2

3}, Xuerui Yao^{1

2}, Xin Jin^{3

4}, Yongnan Xv¹, Junfang Zhang³, Qiang Li³, Changguo Yan⁵, Xiangzi Li³, Namhyung Kim¹

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Large Animal Models for Biomedicine, School of Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Wuyi University, Jiangmen 529020, China.
² International Healthcare Innovation Institute, Jiangmen 529020, China.
³ Engineering Research Centre of North-East Cold Region Beef Cattle Science & Technology Innovation, Ministry of Education, Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture, Yanbian University, Yanji 133002, China.
⁴ Laboratory Animal Center, Yanbian University, Yanji 133002, China.
⁵ Yanbian Hongchao Wisdom Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd., Yanji 133002, China.

Abstract

Triacylglycerol (TGA) is the primary component of intramuscular fat. Expression of diacylglyceryl transferase (DGAT) determines the polyester differentiation ability of precursor adipocytes. The two DGAT isoforms (DGAT1 and DGAT2) play different roles in TAG metabolism. This study investigates the roles of DGAT1 and DGAT2 in signaling pathways related to differentiation and lipid metabolism in Yanbian bovine preadipocytes. sh-DGAT1 (sh-1), sh-DGAT2 (sh-2), and sh-DGAT1 + sh-DGAT2 (sh-1 + 2) were prepared using short interfering RNA (siRNA) interference technique targeting DGAT1 and DGAT2 genes and infected bovine preadipocytes. Molecular and transcriptomic techniques, including differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, were used to investigate the effects on the differentiation of Yanbian bovine preadipocytes. After interference with DGAT1 and DGAT2 genes, the contents of TAG and adiponectin were decreased. The TAG content in the sh-2 and sh-1 + 2 groups was significantly lower than that in the sh-NC group. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) results showed 2070, 2242, and 2446 DEGs in the sh-1, sh-2, and sh-1 + 2 groups, respectively. The DEGs of the sh-2 group were mainly concentrated in the PPAR, AMPK, and Wnt signaling pathways associated with adipocyte proliferation and differentiation. These results demonstrated that at the mRNA level, DGAT2 plays a more important role in lipid metabolism than DGAT1.

Keywords: DGAT; interference; preadipocyte; tiacylglycerol; transcriptome.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the “Subject Innovation and Intellectual Introduction Program for Colleges and Universities” Project (D20034), the Engineering Research Center of North-East Cold Region Beef Cattle Science & Technology Innovation, Ministry of Education, China. Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology (2021B1212040016) and the special project in key areas of biomedicine and health of Guangdong Provincial Department of Education (2021ZDZX2046).