Effects of RXRα gene silencing on the porcine adipocyte differentiation in vitro

The elucidation of the molecular mechanism of porcine adipocyte differentiation is important not only to domestic animal industry, but also to medical science because of the similarities in the trait of body lipid deposition between human and pigs. In this study, we investigated the roles of RXRα in porcine (Sus scrofa) adipocyte differentiation by using RNAi method and primary cultured porcine adipocytes. With the transfection of RXRα-siRNA, the gene and protein expressions of RXRα were successfully inhibited in differentiating porcine adipocytes. By the RXRα gene silencing, the adipocyte differentiation, as characterized by lipid accumulation and GPDH activity, was suppressed. Furthermore, in association with the decrease in RXRα gene expression level, PPARγ and C/EBPα genes expression level also decreased, suggesting that RXRα is involved in their expression. Thus, our study clearly demonstrated the pivotal roles of RXRα in porcine adipocyte differentiation.