Differential expression of cytochrome P450 genes regulate the level of adipose arachidonic acid in Sus scrofa

We compared the fatty acid composition of adipose tissues prepared from Korean native and Yorkshire pigs that have different characteristics in growth and fat deposition. There was no significant difference in the content of most fatty acids between the two breeds, with the exception of arachidonic acid and cis-11, 14,17-eicosatrienoic acid. We also investigated the transcriptional levels of genes encoding three different types of oxygenases, including cytochrome P450 (CYP), lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase, which metabolize arachidonic acid. We found a significant difference in the expression of the CYP genes, CYP2AI3, CYP2U1 and CYP3A4, but no differences for the latter two genes between the two breeds. Our results suggest that the difference in arachidonic acid content between the two breeds was caused by differential expression of the CYP genes. Eventually, different levels of EETs and HETEs produced from arachidonic acid by the activity of CYP might contribute partly to the difference of fatness between the two breeds.