Molecular cloning and expression analysis of cDNA encoding bovine adipogenin

Adipose tissue plays a central role in energy homeostasis. In a previous report, we reported adipogenin, an adipocyte-specific membrane protein whose expression is higher in fat and increases during the adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells, as a candidate gene for involvement in adipogenesis. Here, we isolated the bovine adipogenin gene using in silico cloning and the target region for polymerase chain reaction amplification in the database. cDNA, including a 246 base pair (bp) open reading frame, was identified in the adipose tissues of cattle. In silico gene analysis showed that the bovine adipogenin-encoded protein has a predicted MW of 9882.45, encoding 81 amino acids and located on bovine chromosome 13. The deduced amino acid sequence of bovine adipogenin conserved 86%, 66% and 78% identity with that in pigs, mice and humans, respectively. A semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction showed that bovine adipogenin mRNA was more highly expressed in subcutaneous, perirenal and mescentric adipose tissue than in non-adipose tissue. The level of bovine adipogenin mRNA is dramatically elevated during the adipocyte differentiation of four different kinds of preadipocytes prepared from subcutaneous, perirenal, mesenteric and parametrial adipose tissues. Our results suggest that adipogenin plays an important role in the regulation of adipocyte development in cattle and may be a strong candidate gene for obesity in mammals.