LncRNA106907 enhances hepatic lipid metabolism via GPAM and is associated with laying performance in chickens

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as critical regulators of lipid metabolism in mammals; however, their biological roles and molecular mechanisms in avian species remain largely unexplored. To investigate the potential involvement of hepatic lncRNAs in lipid metabolism associated with laying performance, we performed transcriptome sequencing of liver tissues from high- and low-yielding Taihang hens, identifying 87 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DELs) and 264 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The DEGs, including MSMO1, NSDHL, FADS2, PLIN2, and GPAM, were significantly enriched in lipid metabolic pathways, highlighting the potential importance of hepatic lipid biosynthesis in laying hens. Among the DELs, ENSGALT00000106907 (lncRNA106907) was markedly upregulated in high-yielding hens and exhibited positive expression correlation with GPAM, a rate-limiting enzyme in triglyceride synthesis. Functional assays in leghorn male hepatoma (LMH) cells demonstrated that overexpression of either lncRNA106907 or GPAM enhanced intracellular triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) accumulation, enhanced lipid droplet content, and altered the expression of multiple lipid metabolism-related genes, whereas knockdown produced opposite effects. In addition, lncRNA106907 positively affected GPAM expression, supporting a functional association between lncRNA106907 and GPAM in hepatic lipid metabolism. Collectively, our findings identify lncRNA106907 as a novel cytoplasmic lncRNA associated with hepatic lipid deposition via GPAM and provide new insight into lncRNA-mediated lipid metabolic regulation in chickens.