title: Decreased saturated fatty acids, total cholesterol and LDL-C in sdd17 mice.
abstract: SDD17, a delta-15 desaturase from the fungus Saprolegnia can convert arachidonic acid to eicosapentanoic acid in yeast, plant embryos, and mammalian cells. Here, we generated transgenic mice that carried two copies of codon-optimized sdd17 cDNA within a non-coding domain of chromosome 6. RT-PCR analysis revealed that the foreign gene was expressed in the transgenic tissues. Gas chromatography showed that the levels of total unsaturated fatty acids in muscle, liver, and spleen tissues were significantly (p<0.05) increased in transgenic mice compared to non-transgenic mice at 3 or 8 weeks of age. In addition, the serum concentrations of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in transgenic females, but not in males, were significantly lower than those in sex-matched non-transgenic mice. These results suggest that endogenous sdd17 expression is beneficial for mammalian health and that its effects on fatty acid profiles may differ between sexes.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yong-Gang
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Bo-Wen
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Wen-Guang
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Shu-Yu
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Ke-Mian
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Gou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism*; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000378:metabolism*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D005227:Fatty Acids; D002784:Cholesterol; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases; C094563:delta-15 desaturase