Identification and functional analysis of G-protein coupled receptors in the differentiation of porcine subcutaneous preadipocytes. Sus scrofa strain:LWDL

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are membrane proteins that enable cells to sense molecular signals and to respond in a broad range of biological processes according to the circumstances of cells. Firstly, we detected 10 candidate GPCR genes expressed in porcine subcutaneous preadipocytes (PSPA). Gene knockdown for three out of the ten candidate genes obviously decreased the differentiation of the PSPA. Therefore, we investigated gene expression profiles of PSPA transfected with siRNA for each of the three CPCR genes. Gene ontology analysis elucidated that the knockdown of GPCR genes upregulated molecular pathways related to skeletal system development, mitosis, and cell adhesion, respectively. Interestingly, knockdown of all three genes commonly downregulated genes categorized in PPAR signaling pathway and immune response. Differentiation of PSPA might be attributed to the alteration of gene expression profiles regulated by GPCRs identified in this study.

G蛋白偶联受体（G-protein coupled receptors，GPCRs）是一类膜蛋白，可介导细胞感知分子信号，并依据细胞所处微环境参与广泛的生物学过程。本研究首先在猪皮下前体脂肪细胞（porcine subcutaneous preadipocytes，PSPA）中检测到10个表达的候选GPCR基因。对其中3个候选基因实施基因敲低后，猪皮下前体脂肪细胞的分化能力显著减弱。据此，我们针对这3个GPCR基因分别转染小干扰RNA（small interfering RNA，siRNA），并对转染后的猪皮下前体脂肪细胞开展基因表达谱分析。基因本体（Gene Ontology，GO）分析结果表明，3个GPCR基因的敲低分别上调了与骨骼系统发育、有丝分裂及细胞黏附相关的分子通路。值得注意的是，3个基因的敲低共同下调了归类于过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体信号通路（PPAR signaling pathway）以及免疫反应相关的基因。猪皮下前体脂肪细胞的分化，或可归因于本研究鉴定得到的GPCRs所调控的基因表达谱改变。