Biological Characteristics of Chicken (Gallus gallus) ITM2A Gene and Its Role in Myoblast Proliferation and Differentiation
JIA Qi-Hui1,*, CAO Yu-Zhu1,*, XING Yu-Xin1, MA Cheng-Lin1, GUAN Hong-Bo1, WANG Qian1, KANG Xiang-Tao1,2,3, TIAN Ya-Dong1,2,3, LI Zhuan-Jian1,2,3, LIU Xiao-Jun1,2,3,**, LI Hong1,2,3,**
1 College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China; 2 International Joint Research Laboratory for Poultry Breeding of Henan, Zhengzhou 450046, China; 3 Key Laboratory of Innovation and Utilization of Chicken Germplasm Resources in Henan Province, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Abstract：The integral membrane protein 2A (ITM2A) plays an important role in various biological processes such as muscle development. Previous research results showed that the ITM2A gene is significantly related to chicken (Gallus gallus) body weight. However, the biological function of ITM2A in the proliferation and differentiation process of chicken skeletal muscle is not clear. In this study, bioinformatics analysis of chicken ITM2A protein was performed using online software. Six 7-day-old Arbor Acres Plus (AA) broilers were selected, and samples of heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, breast muscle, leg muscle were collected for tissue expression profile analysis. Breast muscle and leg muscle tissues at different developmental stages were selected for temporal expression analysis. The relative expression of ITM2A were detected using qPCR, and the ITM2A gene coding sequence was amplified using PCR technology to construct a recombinant plasmid for overexpression. Chicken primary myoblasts (CPMs) were isolated, and the relative expression of ITM2A at different stages of CPM induction differentiation were measured. The biological function of ITM2A was evaluated by assessing the expression of cell proliferation and differentiation marker genes in CPM cells overexpressing ITM2A. The bioinformatics analysis results showed that the ITM2A protein consisted of 251 amino acid residues, predominantly composed of α-helices (38.25%) and β-sheets (37.75%). It was an unstable, hydrophilic, non-secretory protein with a transmembrane structure, mainly located on the cell membrane, and might interact with proteins such as fin bud initiation factor homolog (FIBIN), ribosomal protein lateral stalk subunit P0 (RPLP0), and catenin alpha like 1 (CTNNAL1). It exhibited the highest homology with turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) and the closest evolutionary relationship. Tissue expression analysis revealed that ITM2A was widely expressed in the examined tissues, with the highest expression in the lung and spleen and the lowest expression in pectoral and leg muscles. Temporal expression analysis showed that ITM2A expression gradually decreased with increasing days post-hatch, reaching its lowest point at 1 week post-hatch. Compared to the control group, the expression of ITM2A in the experimental group was extremely significantly increased (P<0.01). There were no significant changes in the relative expression levels of cell proliferation-related marker genes, while the expression levels of cell differentiation-related marker genes, such as myosin heavy chain (MYHC), myoblast determination (MYOD), and myomarker (MYMK), were significantly upregulated (P<0.05) in the overexpression group. The expression of the ITM2A gene showed a decreasing trend during CPM proliferation and an increasing trend with induction days. This study demonstrated that ITM2A could promote the differentiation of chicken myoblasts, providing fundamental information for further elucidating the molecular mechanisms through which ITM2A influences muscle development in chickens.
贾其辉, 曹玉珠, 邢雨欣, 马乘霖, 管宏波, 王倩, 康相涛, 田亚东, 李转见, 刘小军, 李红. 鸡ITM2A基因生物学特性及其在成肌细胞增殖分化中的作用[J]. 农业生物技术学报, 2024, 32(11): 2593-2602.
JIA Qi-Hui, CAO Yu-Zhu, XING Yu-Xin, MA Cheng-Lin, GUAN Hong-Bo, WANG Qian, KANG Xiang-Tao, TIAN Ya-Dong, LI Zhuan-Jian, LIU Xiao-Jun, LI Hong. Biological Characteristics of Chicken (Gallus gallus) ITM2A Gene and Its Role in Myoblast Proliferation and Differentiation. 农业生物技术学报, 2024, 32(11): 2593-2602.
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