PDGFRα Regulated by miR-34a and FoxO1 Promotes Adipogenesis in Porcine Intramuscular Preadipocytes through Erk Signaling Pathway

Abstract

Suitable intramuscular fat (IMF) content improves porcine meat quality. The vital genes regulating IMF deposition are necessary for the selection and breeding of an IMF trait. However, the effect and mechanism of <i>PDGFRα</i> on IMF deposition are still unclear. Here, <i>PDGFRα</i> is moderately expressed in porcine longissimus dorsi muscle (LD), whereas it highly expressed in white adipose tissue (WAT). Moreover, <i>PDGFRα</i>-positive cells were located in the gaps of LD fibers which there were IMF adipocytes. Compared with 180-day-old and lean-type pigs, the levels of <i>PDGFRα</i> were much higher in one-day-old and fat-type pigs. Meanwhile the levels of <i>PDGFRα</i> gradually decreased during IMF preadipocyte differentiation. Furthermore, <i>PDGFRα</i> promoted adipogenic differentiation through activating Erk signaling pathway. Based on <i>PDGFRα</i> upstream regulation analysis, we found that the knockdown of <i>FoxO1</i> repressed lipogenesis by downregulating <i>PDGFRα</i>, and miR-34a inhibited adipogenesis through targeting <i>PDGFRα</i>. Collectively, <i>PDGFRα</i> is a positive regulator of IMF deposition. Therefore, we suggest that <i>PDGFRα</i> is a possible target to improve meat quality.