Androgen Inhibits Abdominal Fat Accumulation and Negatively Regulates the PCK1 Gene in Male Chickens

Capons are male chickens whose testes have been surgically incised. Capons show a significant increase in fat accumulation compared to intact male chickens. However, while caponization leads to a significant reduction in androgen levels in roosters, little is known about the molecular mechanisms through which androgen status affects lipogenesis in avian species. Therefore, investigation of the influence of androgens on fat accumulation in the chicken will provide insights into this process. In this study, Affymetrix microarray technology was used to analyze the gene expression profiles of livers from capons and intact male chickens because the liver is the major site of lipogenesis in avian species. Through gene ontology, we found that genes involved in hepatic lipogenic biosynthesis were the most highly enriched. Interestingly, among the upregulated genes, the cytosolic form of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PCK1) gene showed the greatest fold change. Additionally, in conjunction with quantitative real-time PCR data, our results suggested that androgen status negatively regulated the PCK1 gene in male chickens.阉公鸡（Capon）指经手术摘除睾丸的雄性肉鸡。相较于完整雄性肉鸡，阉公鸡的脂肪沉积水平显著升高。尽管去势术可显著降低公鸡体内的雄激素水平，但目前学界对禽类中雄激素状态调控脂肪生成的分子机制仍缺乏深入了解。因此，探究雄激素对肉鸡脂肪沉积的影响，将为阐明该调控过程提供重要理论参考。本研究采用Affymetrix微阵列技术，对阉公鸡与完整雄性肉鸡的肝脏组织进行基因表达谱分析——肝脏是禽类脂肪生成的核心器官。通过基因本体论（Gene Ontology, GO）富集分析，我们发现参与肝脏脂肪生成生物合成的基因富集程度最为显著。有趣的是，在上调表达基因中，磷酸烯醇式丙酮酸羧激酶（phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, PCK1）的胞质亚型的差异表达倍数最大。此外，结合实时定量PCR（quantitative real-time PCR, qPCR）验证数据，本研究结果证实，雄激素状态对雄性肉鸡的PCK1基因具有负调控作用。