Cloning and characterization of porcine resistin gene.

Resistin is a member of resistin-like molecules (RELMs) and a hormone secreted from mature adipocytes in rodents and leukocytes in human. We now report the cloning and characterization of the full-length porcine resistin cDNA and gene. Sequence analysis indicated that the pig resistin cDNA sequence had an open reading frame of 330 bp encoding a 12 kDa protein of 109 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence showed 75.2% identity to the human resistin. The porcine resistin gene was composed of four exons and had exactly the same exon structure as the human resistin gene. The tissue distribution of porcine resistin mRNA was assessed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Resistin gene expression was the highest in porcine leukocytes and low in adipose tissue. Resistin protein could be detected in porcine serum by western blotting and it circulated in serum as dimers and trimers. We provided the first evidence that resistin was abundantly expressed in porcine leukocytes and had an expression pattern similar to that in human resistin mRNA and protein. This suggests that the pig may be a suitable animal model for studying the function of resistin in human insulin resistance.