Effects of Vitamin A Status on Expression of Ucp1 and Brown/Beige Adipocyte-Related Genes in White Adipose Tissues of Beef Cattle

Abstract

We previously reported the presence of brown/beige adipocytes in the white fat depots of mature cattle. The present study examined the effects of dietary vitamin A on the expression of brown/beige adipocyte-related genes in the white fat depots of fattening cattle. No significant differences were observed in the expression of Ucp1 between vitamin A-deficient cattle and control cattle. However, the expression of the other brown/beige adipocyte-related genes was slightly higher in the mesenteric fat depots of vitamin A-deficient cattle. The present results suggest that a vitamin A deficiency does not markedly affect the expression of Ucp1 in white fat depots, but imply that it may stimulate the emergence of beige adipocytes in the mesenteric fat depots of fattening cattle.

Regulatory expression of components in the BMP pathway in white adipose tissues of cattle

“…The present results suggest that the modulation of expression levels of brown/beige adipocyte-related genes in the fat depots of cattle shown in previous studies (Asano et al, 2013;Kanamori et al, 2014) was achieved by altering the activity of the BMP pathway. In humans, the expression levels of components in the BMP pathway in adipose tissue appear to be related to adiposity.…”

“…We previously reported that the expression of Ucp1 in the subcutaneous fat depot was higher in cattle fed a concentrate diet than in those fed a roughage diet (Asano et al, 2013). Furthermore, the expression levels of brown/beige adipocyte-related genes (Seale et al, 2007) in the mesenteric fat depot were generally higher in cattle fed the vitamin A-deficient diet than in those fed the control diet (Kanamori et al, 2014). These findings prompted us to hypothesize that the expression levels of components in the BMP pathway are changed in the fat depots of cattle fed diets with a different ratio of roughage to concentrate or vitamin A-deficient diet.…”

“…The dietary treatments employed were the same as those reported by Yamada and Nakanishi (2012) and Asano et al (2013) for experiment (Exp) 1 and Yamada et al (2013) and Kanamori et al (2014) for Exp 2.…”

“…Therefore, the present study examined the expression levels of components that elicit BMP signaling in the adipose tissues of cattle fed a roughage diet or concentrate diet, and a control or vitamin A-deficient diet. The expression levels of brown/beige adipocyte-related genes were previously shown to be modulated by these diets (Asano et al, 2013;Kanamori et al, 2014).…”

“…Furthermore, previous studies showed that diet affected the expression levels of genes predominantly expressed in brown/ beige adipocytes more than those expressed in white adipocytes (Seale et al, 2007;Sharp et al, 2012) in the fat depots of cattle (Asano et al, 2013;Kanamori et al, 2014); these genes included Ucp1, Cidea, Dio2, Cox1, and Cox8b (Asano et al, 2013;Kanamori et al, 2014). Based on the close relationship between the expression levels of brown/beige adipocyte-related genes and brown/beige adipocyte activity (Seale et al, 2008;Tseng et al, 2008;Barbatelli et al, 2010;Yadav et al, 2011;Whittle et al, 2012), these findings Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/livsci suggested that diet may modulate energy expenditure in the brown/beige adipocytes of cattle.…”