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Effects of supplementation with branched-chain amino acids to low-protein diets on expression of genes related to lipid metabolism in skeletal muscle of growing pigs

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Abstract

Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), including leucine (Leu), isoleucine (Ile), and valine (Val), play critical roles in energy homeostasis and lipid metabolism in addition to their other functions, such as in protein metabolism. This study investigated the effects of different dietary BCAA ratios on the intramuscular fat (IMF) content and fatty acid composition in different location of skeletal muscles, including the longissimus dorsi (LD), biceps femoris (BF), and psoas major (PM) muscles of growing pigs, and also examined the mRNA expression levels of genes involved in lipid metabolism in these muscle tissues. The experiment was performed on 40 growing pigs (Large White × Landrace) with a similar initial weight (9.85 ± 0.35 kg). The pigs were randomly assigned to one of five diets: diet A was a positive control and contained 20 % crude protein (CP) with a Leu:Ile:Val ratio of 1:0.51:0.63 according to the recommendation of the National Research Council (NRC); for diets B to E, the CP level was reduced to 17 %, and the Leu:Ile:Val ratios were 1:1:1, 1:0.75:0.75, 1:0.51:0.63, and 1:0.25:0.25, respectively. No significant difference was observed in the average feed intake and feed efficiency of the pigs fed the low protein diet (17 % CP) with BCAA treatments relative to the positive control. However, there was a tendency for increased feed efficiency of the 1:0.75:0.75 group compared with the 1:1:1 group (P = 0.09). The BCAA ratio of 1:0.75:0.75 (17 % CP) increased the IMF content of BF muscle (P < 0.01). Moreover, varied dietary BCAA supplementation with a reduced protein level had different effects on the fatty acid composition of the LD, BF, and PM muscles. The BCAA ratio of 1:0.51:0.63–1:0.75:0.75 (17 % CP) significantly lowered the ratio of n-6 to n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid in these muscles compared with the positive control group (20 % CP). This effect was associated with an increase in mRNA expression levels of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, lipoprotein lipase, fatty acid transport protein, and fatty acid binding protein 4 in the muscles (P < 0.05). The results indicated that the reduced protein diet (17 % CP) with the BCAA ratio within 1:0.25:0.25–1:0.75:0.75 could increase the IMF content in BF muscle and significantly improve the fatty acid composition in different skeletal muscles accompanied by changes in the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism, compared with those in the pigs that received adequate dietary protein (20 %), which might result in improved eating quality and nutritional value of the meat.

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Abbreviations

ACC:

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase

ADG:

Average daily gain

ADFI:

Average daily feed intake

BCAA:

Branched-chain amino acids

BF:

Biceps femoris

CHD:

Coronary heart disease

CP:

Crude protein

FABP4:

Fatty acid binding protein 4

FATP-1:

Fatty acid transport protein

HDL-C:

High density lipoprotein-cholesterol

HSL:

Hormone-sensitive lipase

Ile:

Isoleucine

IMF:

Intramuscular fat

LD:

Longissimus dorsi

LDL-C:

Low density lipoprotein-cholesterol

Leu:

Leucine

LPL:

Lipoprotein lipase

LPS:

Lipase

M-CPT-1:

Muscle carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1

MUFA:

Monounsaturated fatty acid

NEFAs:

Nonesterified fatty acids

NRC:

National Research Council

PM:

Psoas major

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acid

SFA:

Saturated fatty acid

TAG:

Triacylglycerol

TC:

Total cholesterol

Val:

Valine

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Acknowledgments

This study was jointly supported by National Basic Research Program of China (2013CB127305, 2012CB124704), National Nature Science Foundation of China (31110103909, 31330075), Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (2015), Nature Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2015JJ2146), and The Chinese Academy of Science STS Project (KFJ-EW-STS-063).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Key Laboratory of Agroecology in Subtropical Region, Scientific Observing and Experimental Station of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in South-Central China, Research Center for Healthy Breeding Livestock and Poultry, Hunan Engineering and Research Center for Animal and Poultry Science, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Science, No. 644 Yuanda Road, Furong District, Changsha, 410125, Hunan, China

      Yehui Duan, Fengna Li, Yinghui Li, Qiuping Guo, Yujiao Ji, Bie Tan, Tiejun Li & Yulong Yin

    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China

      Yehui Duan, Yangmiao Duan, Yinghui Li & Qiuping Guo

    3. Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

      Yangmiao Duan

    4. Hunan Co-Innovation Center of Animal Production Safety (CICAPS), Changsha, 410125, China

      Fengna Li & Bie Tan

    5. Hunan Collaborative Innovation Center for Utilization of Botanical Functional Ingredients, Changsha, 410128, China

      Bie Tan & Yulong Yin

    6. School of Biology, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410018, China

      Yulong Yin

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    1. Yehui Duan
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    Correspondence to Fengna Li or Yulong Yin.

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    All procedures performed in studies involving animals were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution at which the studies were conducted. This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

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    Y. Duan and L. Zeng contributed equally to this study.

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    Duan, Y., Duan, Y., Li, F. et al. Effects of supplementation with branched-chain amino acids to low-protein diets on expression of genes related to lipid metabolism in skeletal muscle of growing pigs. Amino Acids 48, 2131–2144 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-016-2223-2

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