Low and high concentrations of butyrate regulate fat accumulation in chicken adipocytes via different mechanisms

ABSTRACT

The present study investigated the effects of varying concentrations of sodium butyrate (SB) on fat accumulation and cell proliferation in chicken adipocytes. High and low serial concentrations of SB used significantly reduced adipocytic fat accumulation. However, they were observed to exhibit differences in cell morphology and distinctions in lipogenic genes expression profiles. At lower concentration (0.01 mM), fat accumulation was decreased with an associated downregulation in the expression of lipogenic genes, which was mediated by free fatty acid receptors (FFARs). Contarily, at higher concentration (1 mM), the fat droplets laden in adipocytes were enlarged, and this was accompanied with activation of lipogenic genes expression. However, the total accumulated fat was also decreased largely due to reduction in cell numbers, which was partially attributable to the reduction in histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity. Animal experiments further indicated that dietary supplementation of lower dose coated SB (0.1% wt/wt) inhibited fat deposition in livers and abdominal fat tissues of broilers, suggesting the potential application of sodium butyrate as feed additive in the regulation of fat deposition.

KEYWORDS:

• Sodium butyrate
• fat accumulation
• adipocytes
• free fatty acid receptors (FFARs)
• histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity

Acknowledgments

We appreciate Ning Ma, Hui Wang, Xixi Song, Jianmin Wu, and Zengmin Liu, for their assistance in the collection of animal samples. Thanks will be given to Victoria Anthony Uyanga for her assistance in language editing. This study was supported by the National Key Research Program of China [2016YFD0500510] and the Taishan Scholars Program [No. 201511023], and Funds of Shandong “Double Tops” Program.

Disclosure Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Author Contributions

Liqin Zhao and Shuang Liu performed in vitro and in vivo experiments, wrote the manuscript, organized the literature and figures and performed the statistical analysis. Haifang Li and Hai Lin conceived the project, led and supervised the study, and reviewed/edited the manuscript. Zhihao Zhang, Jianmei Zhang, Xiaoqian Jin, Jing Zhang, and Wenxiang Jiang performed experiments and contributed to discussion.

Supplemental Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.