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Chicken GLUT4 undergoes complex alternative splicing events and its expression in striated muscle changes
Pengna Luo1, Ziyang Wang1, Chuanchen Su1
1College of Animal Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
Poultry Science
|December 30, 2022
Summary
Chicken glucose transporter protein 4 (GLUT4) exhibits complex alternative splicing, producing multiple protein variants. Its expression in muscle tissues dynamically changes during development, suggesting diverse roles in glucose regulation.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Genomics
- Animal Physiology
Background:
- Glucose transporter protein 4 (GLUT4) is crucial for insulin-mediated glucose homeostasis in mammals.
- Research on chicken GLUT4 is limited, with a focus primarily on mammalian studies.
- Understanding chicken GLUT4 is essential for comparative physiology and avian metabolism research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize chicken GLUT4 mRNA sequences, genomic structure, and alternative splicing.
- To predict the subcellular localization and homologous relationships of chicken GLUT4 protein variants.
- To investigate the spatio-temporal expression patterns of chicken GLUT4 in various tissues during development.
Main Methods:
- Obtained chicken GLUT4 mRNA sequences using conventional amplification and 5'/3' RACE.
- Performed bioinformatics analysis for genomic structure, splicing, localization prediction, and homology.
- Quantified GLUT4 mRNA distribution via RT-qPCR in liver and striated muscles at different developmental stages.
Main Results:
- Identified at least 14 chicken GLUT4 transcripts, encoding 12 amino acid sequences with varying lengths (65-519 AA) due to alternative splicing and polyadenylation.
- Predicted distinct subcellular localizations for these GLUT4 isoforms, all containing the major facilitator superfamily domain.
- Observed dominant GLUT4 expression in pectoralis, leg, and cardiac muscles, with significant developmental fluctuations, peaking at D21.
Conclusions:
- Chicken GLUT4 undergoes extensive alternative splicing, generating diverse protein isoforms with potentially distinct functions.
- GLUT4 expression in chicken striated muscle is dynamically regulated throughout development.
- These findings provide novel insights into the complexity of glucose transport regulation in avian species.
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