Very low density apolipoprotein-II (apoVLDL-II) is a major constituent of very low density lipoprotein and is involved in lipid transportation in chickens. The current study was designed to investigate the associations of an apoVLDL-II gene polymorphism on chicken growth and body composition traits. The Iowa Growth and Composition Resource Population was established by crossing broiler sires wi...

The transcription factors CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins alpha and beta (C/EBP alpha and C/EBP beta) are highly expressed in liver and are believed to function in maintaining the differentiated state of the hepatocytes. C/EBP alpha appears to be a critical regulator of genes involved in metabolic processes. We are interested in the roles of C/EBP in the expression of the very-low-density apoli...

Sterol regulatory element binding protein 1 (SREBP1) drives the expression of several lipogenic genes, whereas SREBP2 dictates the expression of every gene involved in cholesterolgenesis in mammals. In the current study, we cloned the cDNA fragments for SREBP1, SREBP2, fatty acid synthase (FAS), 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMG-CoA reductase), and very low density apolipoprotein-II...

We have examined the chicken Very Low Density Apolipoprotein II (apoVLDL II) gene locus in transgenic mice. A DNA fragment composed of the transcribed region, 16 kb of 5' flanking and 400 bp of 3' flanking sequences contained all the information sufficient for estrogen-inducible, liver-specific expression of the apoVLDL II gene. The far-upstream region contains a Negative Regulating Element coi...

In the laying hen, very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles contain large amounts of apolipoprotein (apo)-VLDL-II in addition to apoB. These triglyceride-rich lipoproteins are transported from the liver primarily to growing oocytes. Since no appreciable hydrolysis of triglyceride occurs during this transport, we have investigated the possibility that apoVLDL-II functions as an inhibitor of...

The chicken Very-Low-Density Apolipoprotein II (apoVLDL II) gene is specifically expressed in liver in response to estrogen. In this study, we performed a functional analysis of the 300-base pair region immediately 5' to the gene by gene transfer of chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) constructs into chicken embryonic hepatocytes (CEH). Two estrogen response elements (EREs) could be distin...

Using genomic and in vitro DNasel footprinting, we have analyzed protein-DNA interactions within the promoter region of the oestrogen-inducible gene encoding chicken apoVLDL II. The footprints coincide with previously detected guanosine-protein contacts in vivo. All footprints identified are present in the apoVLDL II-expressing liver exclusively and absent in hormone-naive liver, spleen and ovi...

The Watanabe Heritable Hyperlipidemic rabbit (WHHL rabbit) and the cholesterol-fed rabbit have been reported to show elevations of very low density (VLDL), intermediate density (IDL), and low density lipoproteins (LDL), and a broad-beta band on agarose-gel electrophoresis. We have studied the lipid and lipoprotein composition of WHHL rabbits and cholesterol-fed rabbits using ultracentrifugal an...