Excessive BCAA regulates fat metabolism partially through the modification of m6A RNA methylation in weanling piglets

Fat percentage and distribution in pigs are associated with their productive efficiency and meat quality. Dietary branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) regulate fat metabolism in weanling piglets with unknown mechanism. It is reported that N6-methyl-adenosine (m6A) is involved in fat metabolism in mice. The current study was designed to investigate the relationship between dietary branched-chain amino acids and fat metabolism through N6-methyl-adenosine (m6A) in weanling piglets.

These results suggest that insufficient or excessive BCAA decreased the fat deposition by increasing lipolysis and deceasing lipogenesis in adipose and liver tissues. Dietary excessive BCAA might regulate the process of lipid metabolism partly through the m6A RNA methylation.

A total of 18 healthy crossbred weaned piglets (Duroc × Landrace × Large White, 10.45 ± 0.41 kg) were divided into 3 treatments and were fed the low BCAA dose diet (L-BCAA), the normal dose BCAA diet (N-BCAA), or the high dose BCAA (H-BCAA) diet for 3 weeks.

Our results show that compared with the N-BCAA group, the L-BCAA group had higher concentration of serum leptin (P < 0.05), while the H-BCAA group had lower concentration of serum adiponectin (P < 0.05). Fatty acid synthesis in pigs from the H-BCAA group was lower than those from the N-BCAA group with the down-regulation of lipogenic genes (ACACA, FASN, PPAR-r, SREBP-1c in ventral and dorsal fat, SREBP-1c in liver) and up-regulation of lipolysis genes (HSL, ATGL, CPT-1A, FABP4 in ventral fat, HSL in liver) (P < 0.05). Similarly, fatty acid synthesis in pigs from the L-BCAA group was also lower than those from the N-BCAA group with the decrease of lipogenic genes (ACACA in ventral, ACACA and FASN in dorsal fat, ACACA, FASN, SREBP-1c in liver) and the increase of lipolysis genes (ATGL, CPT-1A CD36, FABP4 in ventral fat and HSL, ATGL, CPT-1A in dorsal fat, CPT-1A) (P < 0.05). Feeding H-BCAA diet significantly reduced total m6A levels in ventral and dorsal fat and liver tissues (P < 0.05). The decrease of total m6A is associated with down-regulation of METTL3, METTL14 and FTO in dorsal fat and METTL3 and FTO in liver (P < 0.05). Decreased m6A modification of ACACA and FASN in ventral and dorsal adipose tissues was observed in pig fed with excessive BCAA.