Effect of the Gene on Preadipocyte Differentiation in Sheep.

Acetyl-CoA acyltransferase 1 () functions as a key regulator of fatty acid β-oxidation in peroxisomes by catalyzing the cleavage of 3-ketoacyl-CoA to acetyl-CoA and acyl-CoA, which participate in the extension and degradation of fatty acids. Thus, is an important regulator of lipid metabolism and plays an essential role in fatty acid oxidation and lipid metabolism. Our previous study findings revealed that is closely associated with the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor () signaling and fatty acid metabolism pathways, which are involved in fat deposition in sheep, leading to our hypothesis that may be involved in fat deposition by regulating lipid metabolism. However, the associated molecular mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, to assess the potential function of in sheep preadipocyte differentiation, we knocked down and overexpressed in sheep preadipocytes and evaluated the pattern of gene expression during preadipocyte differentiation by qRT-PCR. was significantly expressed in the early stage of adipocyte differentiation, and then its expression decreased. deficiency increased lipid accumulation and the triglyceride content and promoted sheep preadipocyte differentiation, whereas overexpression inhibited adipogenesis and decreased lipid accumulation and the triglyceride content. Simultaneously, we demonstrated that deficiency upregulated the expressions of the adipogenic marker genes γ and α in sheep preadipocytes, but overexpression inhibited the expressions of these markers, indicating that affects lipid metabolism by regulating adipogenic marker genes. Our results may promote a better understanding of the regulation of adipogenesis by .