title: Dietary vitamin E affects α-TTP mRNA levels in different tissues of the Tan sheep.
abstract: The α-tocopherol transfer protein (α-TTP) is a ~32kDa cytosolic protein that plays an important role in the efficient circulation of plasma α-tocopherol in the body, a factor with great relevance in reproduction. The α-TTP gene has been studied in a number of tissues; however, its expression and function in some ovine tissues remain unclear. A previous study from our laboratory has demonstrated α-TTP expression in sheep liver. In the present study we determined whether α-TTP is expressed in non-liver tissues and investigated the effects of dietary vitamin E on the α-TTP mRNA levels. Thirty-five male Tan sheep with similar body weight were randomly allocated into five groups and supplemented 0, 20, 100, 200 and 2000IUsheep(-1)day(-1) vitamin E, for four months, respectively. At the end of the study, the animals were slaughtered and tissue samples from the heart, spleen, lung, kidney, longissimus dorsi muscle and gluteus muscle were immediately collected. We found that the α-TTP gene is expressed in sheep tissues other than the liver. Moreover, dietary vitamin E levels had influenced the expression levels of α-TTP gene in these tissues in a tissue-specific way. The technique of immunohistochemistry was used to detect α-TTP in tissues of the heart, spleen, lung, and kidney and we found that α-TTP was mainly located in the cytoplasm while no α-TTP immunoreactivity was detected in the cytoplasm of longissimus dorsi and gluteus muscle samples. Importantly, our findings lay the foundation for additional experiments focusing on the absorption and metabolism of vitamin E in tissues other than the liver.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhao-yun
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, PR China. Electronic address: luohailing@cau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hai-ling
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Hui-na
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Yu-wei
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Li-juan
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Yan-fei
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D053180:Animal Nutrition Sciences; D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009132:Muscles / Q000378:metabolism; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012756:Sheep; D013154:Spleen / Q000378:metabolism; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C017763:alpha-tocopherol transfer protein; D014810:Vitamin E
keywords: Immunohistochemistry; Sheep; Vitamin E; mRNA expression; α-TTP