Transcriptional regulation of bovine elongation of very long chain fatty acids protein 6 in lipid metabolism and adipocyte proliferation

Abstract The elongation of very long chain fatty acids protein 6 (ELOVL6) gene encodes a key enzyme that plays a role in lipogenesis through the catalytic elongation of both saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. Previous studies have described the high expression of bovine ELOVL6 in adipose tissues. However, transcriptional regulation and the functional role of ELOVL6 in lipid metabolism and adipocyte proliferation remain unexplored. Here, a 1.5 kb fragment of the 5′‐untranslated region promoter region of ELOVL6 was amplified from the genomic DNA of Qinchuan cattle and sequenced. The core promoter region was identified through unidirectional 5′‐end deletion of the promoter plasmid vector. In silico analysis predicted important transcription factors that were then validated through site‐directed mutation and small interfering RNA interference with an electrophoretic mobility shift assay. We found that the binding of KLF6 and PU.1 transcription factors occurred in the region −168/+69. Both perform a vital regulatory function in the transcription of bovine ELOVL6. Overexpression of ELOVL6 significantly upregulated the expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ), but inhibited the expression of fatty acid‐binding protein 4 (FABP4), while silencing of ELOVL6 negatively regulated the messenger RNA expression level of PPARγ, FABP4, ACSL, and FATP1. In addition, ELOVL6 promotes adipocyte proliferation by regulating the cell‐cycle genes' expression. Taken together, these findings provide useful information about the transcriptional regulation and functional mechanisms of bovine ELOVL6 in lipid metabolism and adipocyte proliferation in Qinchuan cattle.