Starvation and diet composition affect mRNA levels of the high density-lipoprotein-beta glucan binding protein in the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei.

A high density lipoprotein-beta glucan binding protein (HDL-BGBP) is synthesized in the hepatopancreas of the white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei and secreted to the hemolymph. Recently, we reported the HDL-BGBP full length cDNA sequence and found that the predicted polypeptide is larger than the mature protein and also, that it contains a long 5'- and 3'-UTRs that may be involved in transcript level regulation. To test whether starvation and feeding may play a role in regulating HDL-BGBP mRNA levels, two different stimuli were evaluated: starvation and composition of diets. After 24 h, the steady state HDL-BGBP mRNA levels of starved shrimp decreased, suggesting that synthesis of the lipoprotein is less required in the absence of food. When shrimp were fed with diets containing different concentrations of protein and lipids, changes in HDL-BGBP mRNA levels were also detected. Shrimp fed the lower concentration of protein and lipid feed accumulated higher levels of HDL-BGBP mRNA. These results indicate that feeding influences HDL-BGBP transcript levels in the hepatopancreas.