Myristic Acid (MA) Promotes Adipogenic Gene Expression and the Differentiation of Porcine Intramuscular Adipocyte Precursor Cells

Intramuscular fat (IMF) content is considered to be a key factor that affects the marbling, tenderness, juiciness and flavor of pork. To investigate the effects of myristic acid (MA) on the differentiation of porcine intramuscular adipocytes, cells were isolated from longissimus dorsi muscle (LDM) and treated with 0, 10, 50 or 100 μmol L−1 MA. The results showed that MA significantly promotes the differentiation of intramuscular adipocytes in a dose-dependent manner. MA also led to a parallel increase in the expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) and adipose-related genes, such as glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), adipocyte fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4/aP2), fatty acid translocase (FAT), acetyl-CoA carboxylase α (ACCα), adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and fatty acid synthase (FASN). However, no significant effects of MA were observed on the expression of CAAT enhancer binding protein-α (C/EBPα) or hormone sensitive lipase (HSL). The expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) was increased by MA during the early stages of differentiation (day 1–3). In addition, MA also increased the absolute content of C14 (P<0.001) and saturated fatty acids (SFA) (P<0.05) to varying degrees, but no effects were observed on other fatty acids. These results suggest that MA might be able to enhance the IMF content of pork and increase the accumulation of myristic and myristoleic acid in muscle, which might have beneficial implications for human health.