SREBP-1c gene silencing can decrease lipid deposits in bovine hepatocytes cultured in vitro.

BACKGROUND Fatty liver is a major metabolic disorder that occurs during early lactation in high-producing dairy cows. Sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) is an important transcription factor that regulates lipid synthesis by regulating the expression of lipid metabolism genes. METHODS In this study, we reduced the expression of SREBP-1c by adenovirus-mediated SREBP-1c with a low expression vector (AD-GFP-SREBP-1c) to study the effects of SREBP-1c on lipid deposits in bovine hepatocytes. The expression levels and enzyme activities of SERBP-1c and its target genes were determined by real-time PCR, western blot, and ELISA. RESULTS These results showed that Ad-GFP-SREBP-1c could inhibit SREBP-1c expression. The expression of the lipid synthesis enzyme acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) was down-regulated. The expression levels of the lipid oxidation enzymes long-chain fatty acyl-COA synthetase (ACSL-1), carnitine palmitoyltransferase І (CPT-І), carnitine palmitoyltransferase II (CPT- II), and β-hydroxyacyl-CoA-DH (HADH) were significantly elevated. Furthermore, the expression levels of factors involved in the assembly and transport of very low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs), such as apolipoprotein B100 (ApoB), apolipoprotein E (ApoE), and microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTTP) were decreased comparison with the negative control and the blank control groups, but the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) was elevated. The concentrations of TG (triglyceride) and VLDL were also reduced. CONCLUSION These data suggest that low SREBP-1c expression can decrease lipid synthesis, increase lipid oxidation, and decrease the TG and VLDL content in bovine hepatocytes.