Fat depot-specific differences in pref-1 gene expression and adipocyte cellularity between Wagyu and Holstein cattle
Introduction
Adipose tissue growth (adipogenesis) is dependent on cellular events concerning both the differentiation of preadipocytes and the terminal differentiation of adipocytes [1]. Adipogenic transcription factors, the CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) family (C/EBPα, C/EBPβ, and C/EBPδ) and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ2 (PPARγ2), play essential roles during adipogenesis [2], [3].
Preadipocyte factor-1 (pref-1) is a trans-membrane protein specifically expressed in preadipocytes [4], [5]. Pref-1 is a molecular gatekeeper of adipogenesis, which acts by maintaining the preadipocyte state and preventing adipocyte differentiation [6], [7]. Therefore, pref-1 expression has been used as a marker of the differentiation stage of adipogenesis and an indicator of preadipocyte density within adipose tissues [8], [9].
Beef breeds have been shown to have different capabilities for adipose tissue deposition. Japanese Black (Wagyu) cattle are characterized by the ability to accumulate higher amount of adipose tissues than Holsteins [10]. Previously, we indicated that the expression level of the C/EBP family in Wagyu adipocytes was significantly higher than in those of Holsteins [11]. A comparative in vitro study of bovine preadipocyte differentiation showed that the differentiation potential of preadipocytes in Wagyu is higher than in Holsteins [12]. Overexpression of pref-1 inhibits adipocyte differentiation and adipose tissue growth in mice [13]. These results suggest that, in addition to the expression level of adipogenic transcription factors in adipocytes, breed differences of adipogenic capacity could be explained by the expression level of pref-1 in preadipocytes. However, the effects of breed difference on the expression of the pref-1 in bovine adipogenesis are still unclear. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the effects of breed difference on the expression of the pref-1 gene in the adipose tissue of Wagyu and Holstein from various anatomical sites (subcutaneous and mesenteric).
Section snippets
Animals
The experimental design has been described in detail by Yamada et al. [11]. In brief, sixteen fattening steers (Wagyu (n = 8) and Holstein (n = 8), aged 19–24 months) were fed concentrate (88% total digestible nutrients and 12% crude protein) and orchard grass hay (56% total digestible nutrients and 8% crude protein) ad libitum from 10 months of age until they were slaughtered. Feeds were individually provided in each group. Adipose tissue samples from two types of fat tissues (subcutaneous and
Adipocyte cellularity
In subcutaneous adipose tissue, there was no difference in adipocyte cellularity between the breeds (Fig. 1). In contrast, the photomicrographs of osmium-fixed mesenteric adipocytes showed that larger sizes of adipocytes were more abundant in Wagyu than in Holsteins (Fig. 2A and B). As compared to the Holstein, the mesenteric adipocyte size distribution in Wagyu shifted toward larger diameters (Fig. 2C). The mean diameter of mesenteric adipocytes in Wagyu was significantly larger than that of
Discussion
In the present study, we showed that mesenteric adipose tissues expressed significantly higher pref-1 mRNA levels than did subcutaneous adipose tissues. Tchkonia et al. [16] showed that subcutaneous preadipocytes differentiated better than did visceral preadipocytes. Adams et al. [17] also showed that thiazolidinedione promotes adipogenesis of subcutaneous preadipocytes to a greater extent than preadipocytes derived from the visceral fat depots. Sweter et al. [18] indicated that the expression
Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (No. 24580399).
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