Kim Minjeong, Jung Usuk, Wilson Jeanna, Brown Lindsay P, Campagna Shawn R, Pértille Fábio, Guerrero-Bosagna Carlos, Drnevich Jenny, Voy Brynn H
Department of Animal Science, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
Department of Poultry Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Poult Sci. 2025 Jul 27;104(10):105619. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2025.105619.
Our objective was to identify the molecular mechanisms through which fish oil, a source of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) in the hen diet influence adipose development in chick embryo. Broiler-breeder hens (n = 30/diet) were fed diets containing 2.3% of either fish oil or soybean oil (n-6 PUFA control) for four weeks. Fertilized eggs (n = 40/diet) from maternal fish oil (MFO) and soybean oil (MSO) were randomly collected and incubated to embryonic ages (E) 14, E16, and E20. Fatty acid profiles revealed that MFO significantly enriched yolk and subcutaneous adipose tissue in EPA and DHA. This difference was reflected in adipose tissue morphology, as histological analysis showed that MFO significantly reduced adipocyte size and increased the frequency of small adipocytes at each age examined. Preadipocytes isolated from E16 adipose tissue in MFO accumulated significantly less lipid than MSO controls, consistent with inhibition of fat accretion by fish oil. In addition, MFO preadipocytes exhibited significantly higher mitochondrial activity than MSO preadipocytes, attributed to their increased density, indicating improved oxidative metabolism capacity. Transcriptome profiling by RNA-seq in E16 adipose tissue revealed significant effects of MFO, with 210 upregulated and 113 downregulated genes compared to the MSO control. These genes were mainly enriched in pathways involved in lipid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and PPAR signaling pathway. Notably, MFO increased the expression of four members of the Iroquois homeobox genes, which have recently been shown to regulate adipogenesis in humans and rodents. The type of fatty acids in the hen diet also significantly influenced patterns of DNA methylation. A total of 17 differentially methylated regions were identified (FDR P < 0.1). Collectively, these results indicate that dietary programming by n-3 PUFA may reduce fat accretion after hatch through effects on transcriptomic and epigenetic mechanisms that originate in the embryo.
我们的目标是确定母鸡日粮中ω-3多不饱和脂肪酸（n-3 PUFA）来源的鱼油影响鸡胚脂肪发育的分子机制。将肉种鸡（每组30只）饲喂含2.3%鱼油或大豆油（n-6 PUFA对照）的日粮4周。随机收集来自母源鱼油（MFO）和大豆油（MSO）组的受精蛋（每组40枚），孵化至胚胎期（E）14、E16和E20。脂肪酸谱显示，MFO显著提高了蛋黄和皮下脂肪组织中EPA和DHA的含量。这种差异反映在脂肪组织形态上，组织学分析表明，MFO在每个检测年龄均显著减小脂肪细胞大小并增加小脂肪细胞的频率。从MFO组E16脂肪组织分离的前脂肪细胞积累的脂质明显少于MSO对照组，这与鱼油抑制脂肪积累一致。此外，MFO前脂肪细胞的线粒体活性显著高于MSO前脂肪细胞，这归因于其密度增加，表明氧化代谢能力提高。通过RNA-seq对E16脂肪组织进行转录组分析发现，MFO有显著影响，与MSO对照组相比，有210个基因上调，113个基因下调。这些基因主要富集在脂质代谢、脂肪酸代谢和PPAR信号通路相关的途径中。值得注意的是，MFO增加了Iroquois同源盒基因四个成员的表达，最近研究表明这些基因在人类和啮齿动物中调节脂肪生成。母鸡日粮中的脂肪酸类型也显著影响DNA甲基化模式。总共鉴定出17个差异甲基化区域（FDR P<0.1）。总体而言，这些结果表明，n-3 PUFA的日粮编程可能通过影响胚胎期的转录组和表观遗传机制来减少孵化后脂肪的积累。
