Cloning of rabbit adiponectin and its relationship to age and high-cholesterol diet

Secreted by adipocytes, adiponectin is a collagen-like protein with significant roles in regulating the metabolism of glucose and fatty acids and in preventing atherosclerosis. However, information about adiponectin in rabbit is limited. In this study, we cloned rabbit ADIPOQ gene by RT-PCR using mRNA from adipose tissue and sequenced the open reading frame. The rabbit adiponectin sequence shares approximately 86.39% and 81.45% homology with those of humans and mice respectively, and 85.66% and 85.25% similarity with humans and mice proteins at the amino acid level respectively, based on the translated rabbit sequence and GenBank submissions of other species. We also evaluated ADIPOQ gene mRNA expression in adipose tissue in rabbits fed on high-cholesterol diet and in different age groups by real-time PCR. ADIPOQ gene mRNA expression was significantly different in different age rabbits and correlated positively with the level of plasma HDL in high-cholesterol diet rabbits. These results suggest similar function of ADIPOQ gene in rabbits as in other species and indicate the relationship between ADIPOQ gene mRNA expression and high-cholesterol diet and age.