Differential responses of hormone-sensitive lipase gene to nutritional transition in adipose tissue, liver, and skeletal muscle of pigs.

To study the regulation of hormone-sensitive lipase gene in pigs, we amplified and sequenced partial porcine hormone-sensitive lipase cDNA. Nucleotide analysis indicated that porcine hormone-sensitive lipase cDNA was 86% homologous with the rat. In agreement with the rat, a 3.3 kb mRNA transcript was detected in adipose tissue but not in skeletal muscle of pigs by Northern hybridization. With more sensitive PCR method, hormone-sensitive lipase mRNA was found in adipose tissue, liver, heart, skeletal muscle, testis, and spleen. The gene expression in adipose tissue and liver was elevated after 2 days of fasting, and refeeding for another 2 days decreased the mRNA abundance. In contrast, the levels in skeletal muscle were not altered during identical nutritional transition. Combined evidences suggest that differential control may occur in porcine hormone-sensitive lipase gene in a tissue-specific fashion.