Abstract：Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate the transcription of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma gene (PPARγ) in mammals, thereby affecting the proliferation and differentiation of adipocytes. In order to explore if lncRNA plays regulatory role on PPARγ in chickens (Gallus gallus), this study analyzed public chicken RNA-seq data by bioinformatics methods, and found that in intron 1 of chicken PPARγ, a sense transcription produces a 1 483 bp lncRNA (named PLNC). Subsequent analysis using qRT-PCR revealed that the expression levels of both PLNC and PPARγ transcript 1 (cPPARγ1) were relatively high in chicken adipose tissue at 1, 4 and 7 weeks of age. The preadipocytes and mature adipocytes in 14-day-old abdominal adipose tissue of Arbor Acres (AA) chickens were directly isolated. The expression levels of PLNC and PPARγ and chicken PPARγ transcript 1 (cPPARγ1) in preadipocytes were significantly higher than that in mature adipocytes. During the differentiation of chicken preadipocytes, expression trend of PLNC, total PPARγ and cPPARγ1 were similar to each other. Transfection experiment simultaneously with PLNC interference RNA and cPPARγ1 promoter reporter gene showed that inhibiting PLNC could significantly improve the activity of renilla luciferase. After treatment with different concentrations of rosiglitazone on preadipocytes for 24 h, with the concentration rising up, the expression levels of PLNC and cPPARγ1 elevated first. When cPPARγ1 expression reached the plateau, PLNC expression decreased. Taken together, this study found that PLNC was involved in differentiation of chicken adipocytes, potentially through competitively regulating the promoter activity and transcription level of cPPARγ1. This study provides new clues of the molecular regulation mechanism of chicken adipose tissue growth and development, and also insights on the treatment of excessive fat deposition, and therapy for obesity and metabolic related diseases.
