Effects of Vitamin A on Yanbian Yellow Cattle and Their Preadipocytes by Activating AKT/mTOR Signaling Pathway and Intestinal Microflora

Abstract

In this study, the effects of vitamin A and its metabolite, all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), on the proliferation and differentiation of preadipocytes and the intestinal microbiome in Yanbian yellow cattle were investigated. Preadipocytes collected from Yanbian yellow cattle treated with different concentrations of ATRA remained in the G1/G0 phase, as determined by flow cytometry. Quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blotting analyses showed that the mRNA and protein expression levels of key adipogenic factors, peroxisome proliferator- activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), CCAAT enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 (ERK2), decreased. ATRA was found to regulate the mTOR signaling pathway, which is involved in lipid metabolism, by inhibiting the expression of AKT2 and the adipogenic transcription factors SREBP1, ACC, and FAS; the protein and mRNA expression levels showed consistent trends. In addition, 16S rRNA sequencing results showed that a low concentration of vitamin A promoted the growth of intestinal microflora beneficial to lipid metabolism and maintained intestinal health. The results indicated that ATRA inhibited the adipogenic differentiation of preadipocytes from Yanbian yellow cattle through the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, and that low concentrations of vitamin A may help maintain the intestinal microbes involved in lipid metabolism in cattle.