Microstructure of the eye tunics,eyelids and ocular glands of the Sulawesi bear cuscus (Ailurops ursinus Temminck, 1824) (Phalangeridae: Marsupialia) based on anatomical,histological and histochemical studies

This study described the anatomy, histology and the histochemical analysis of the eye tunics, the upper and lower eyelid, the third eyelid, the lacrimal gland and the superficial gland of the third eyelid in adult Sulawesi bear cuscus. The eyeball and the eyelids with the orbital glands were harvested immediately post-mortem. The eyeball in the Sulawesi bear cuscus had a sphere-like shape. The pupil was round, and the lens was a circular biconvex body. There was neither tapetum lucidum nor Harderian gland. Similarly, there were no eyelashes in the lower eyelid. The lymphoid follicles and the high endothelial venules (HEV) were found in the lymphoid region only in the third eyelid and in the connective tissue of the superficial gland of the third eyelid. The third eyelid in the bear cuscus resembled the letter “T.” The lacrimal gland and superficial gland of the third eyelid were multilobar tubuloacinar glands. The histological analysis and histochemical studies showed that the lacrimal gland in the Sulawesi bear cuscus produced a mucoserous secretion with predominantly serous cells. In contrast, the superficial gland of the third eyelid produced a serous secretion with a single acinus mucous in character.     

Body fat-lowering effect of conjugated linoleic acid is not due to increased lipolysis

The ability of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) to reduce adiposity may be due to changes in energy expenditure and/or direct effects on adipocyte lipid metabolism. The aim of the present work was to analyse if CLA supplementation modifies lipolytic activity in adipose tissue from hamsters fed on high-fat diet. Hamsters were divided into two groups and fed on diets supplemented with either 0.5% linoleic acid (control) or 0.5% trans-10,cis-12 CLA. After 6 weeks, animals were fasted overnight and adipose tissues were dissected and weighed. Adipocytes were isolated by collagenase digestion and incubated in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer with or without several agents acting at different levels of the lipolytic cascade. Adipocyte diameters were measured by microscopy. Adipose tissue DNA content was assessed by spectrophotometry. Animals fed on CLA diet showed significantly reduced adipose tissue mass. No differences between both groups was found for basal lipolysis, lipolytic effects of isoproterenol, forskolin, dibutyryl-cAMP and isobutylmethylxanthine, and pD2 for isoproterenol. A similar total DNA amount was found in adipose tissue of both groups, showing that CLA diet had no effect on total cell number per fat pad. Although DNA content per gram tissue, an indirect reverse index of cell size, was significantly increased in CLA fed hamsters, microscopy did not reveal differences in medium mature adipocyte diameter, nor in cell size distribution between both groups. These results suggest that adipose tissue size reduction induced by trans-10,cis-12 CLA intake is not due to changes in lipolysis. Reduced preadipocyte differentiation into mature adipocytes may account for this fat-lowering effect.     

Expression of CA III in rodent models of obesity

To achieve a better understanding of the biochemical basis of obesity, we have undertaken comparative analyses of adipose tissue of lean and obese mice. By two-dimensional gel analysis, carbonic anhydrase-III (CA III) has been identified as a major constituent of murine adipose tissue. Quantitative comparisons of CA III protein and mRNA levels indicate that this enzyme is expressed at lower levels in adipose tissue from animals that were either genetically obese or had experimentally induced obesity compared to levels in the corresponding lean controls. This decrease in CA III expression was unique to adipose tissue, since other CA III-containing organs and tissues did not show a change when lean and obese animals were compared. Additionally, levels of CA III in adipose tissue from obese animals responded to acute changes in energy balance of the animal. These results are discussed in light of possible metabolic roles for CA III.     

Lipoprotein lipase and lipogenic enzyme activities in adipose tissue from rats fed different lipid sources

This work was designed to study the effect of different lipid sources on the activities of lipoprotein lipase and lipogenic enzymes in adipose tissue from rats fedad libitum or energy-controlled diets. Male Wistar rats were fed diets containing 40% of energy as fat (olive oil, sunflower oil, palm oil or beef tallow), for 4 wk. Underad libitum feeding no differences were found among dietary fat groups in final body weight, adipose tissue weights and total body fat. Under energy-controlled feeding, despite isoenergetic intake, rats fed the beef tallow diet gained significantly less weight than rats fed the other three diets. Beef tallow fed rats showed the lowest values for adipose tissue weights and total body fat. When rats had free access to food no effect of dietary lipid source on lipogenic enzyme activities was found. In contrast, under energy-controlled feeding rats fed the beef tallow diet showed significantly higher activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and fatty acid synthase than rats fed the other three diets. Heparin-releasable lipoprotein lipase activity in perirenal and subcutaneous adipose tissues was not different among rats fed olive oil, safflower oil, palm oil or beef tallow. When comparing both adipose tissue anatomical locations, significantly higher activities were found in subcutaneous than in perirenal fat pad independently of dietary fat. In conclusion, under our experimental protocol, lipogenesis in rat adipose tissue does not seem to be affected by dietary fat type.     

Gender-related differences in morphology and thermogenic capacity of brown adipose tissue mitochondrial subpopulations

To investigate the possible existence of a gender dimorphism in the morphology and functionality of brown adipose tissue (BAT) mitochondrial subpopulations, we obtained three mitochondrial fractions - heavy, medium and light - by differential centrifugation. Electron microscopic analysis was carried out and mitochondrial protein content, cytochrome c oxidase and ATP synthase activities, mitochondrial DNA content and UCP1 protein levels were measured in each mitochondrial fraction. Female rats showed a greater mitochondrial size than males, with a different distribution pattern of the subpopulations. These differences were accompanied by higher oxidative and thermogenic capacities and a higher protein content in female rat BAT. This tissue also showed a greater tendency to respiratory chain uncoupling, as well as a close coordination between the oxidative, phosphorylative and thermogenic processes. These differences were found in the heavy subpopulation but not in the light one. Our results demonstrate that female rat BAT shows a highly differentiated mitochondrial pool, with the heavy mitochondrial subpopulation as the main responsible for the greater thermogenic activity of this tissue. In addition, it seems that there is a differential regulation of the mitochondrial growth cycle between genders in BAT, which leads to enhanced thermogenic capacity in female rat mitochondria.     

Angiogenesis and the formation of lymphaticlike channels in cultures of thoracic duct

Summary Segments of rat thoracic duct cultured in plasma clot or in collagen gel produced microvascular and fibroblastic outgrowths. Lymphaticlike channels (LLC) with a highly attenuated endothelium, which was barely visible by light microscopy, were found in 8 out of 25 cultures (32%). Serial histologic sections revealed that the endothelium of the LLC was continuous with the intimal endothelium of the throacic duct and was therefore of lymphatic origin. In addition to the LLC, vascular channels lined by a thick endothelium with hump-shaped, cross-sectional profiles were found in 10 cultures (40%). These channels were indistinguishable from the microvessels of blood vascular origin that formed in parallel cultures of rat aorta or periductal adipose tissue and were termed hematiclike channels (HLC). Contrary to the LLC, the HLC did not originate from the lymphatic endothelium of the thoracic duct. The frequent association of the HLC with the adventitia of the thoracic duct and with the surrounding adipose tissue suggested that they probably developed from the hematic microvessels of the periductal soft tissues. This research was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute, NIH, National Bladder Cancer Project (CA14137), and the W. W. Smith Charitable Trust.     

Microvascular patterns in the blubber of shallow and deep diving odontocetes

Blubber, a specialized form of subdermal adipose tissue, surrounds marine mammal bodies. Typically, adipose tissue is perfused by capillaries but information on blubber vascularization is lacking. This study's goals were to: 1) describe and compare the microvasculature (capillaries, microarterioles, and microvenules) of blubber across odontocete species; 2) compare microvasculature of blubber to adipose tissue; and 3) examine relationships between blubber's lipid composition and its microvasculature. Percent microvascularity, distribution, branching pattern, and diameter of microvessels were determined from images of histochemically stained blubber sections from shallow‐diving bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), deeper‐diving pygmy sperm whales (Kogia breviceps), deep‐diving beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris; Ziphius cavirostris), and the subdermal adipose tissue of domestic pigs (Sus scrofa). Tursiops blubber showed significant stratification in percent microvascularity among the superficial, middle, and deep layers and had a significantly higher percent microvascularity than all other animals analyzed, in which the microvasculature was more uniformly distributed. The percent microvasculature of Kogia blubber was lower than that of Tursiops but higher than that of beaked whales and the subdermal adipose tissue of domestic pigs. Tursiops had the most microvascular branching. Microvessel diameter was relatively uniform in all species. There were no clear patterns associating microvascular and lipid characteristics. The microvascular characteristics of the superficial layer of blubber resembled the adipose tissue of terrestrial mammals, suggesting some conservation of microvascular patterns in mammalian adipose tissue. The middle and deep layers of blubber, particularly in Tursiops, showed the greatest departure from typical mammalian microvascular arrangement. Factors such as metabolics or thermoregulation may be influencing the microvasculature in these layers. © J. Morphol., 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The effects of feeding condition and dietary lipid level on lipoprotein lipase gene expression in liver and visceral adipose tissue of red sea bream Pagrus major

The effects of feeding condition and dietary lipid level on lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene expression in the liver and visceral adipose tissue of red sea bream Pagrus major were investigated by competitive polymerase chain reaction. Not only visceral adipose tissue but also liver of red sea bream showed substantial LPL gene expression. In the liver, starvation (at 48 h post-feeding) drastically stimulated LPL gene expression in the fish-fed low lipid diet, but had no effect in the fish fed high lipid diet. Dietary lipid level did not significantly affect the liver LPL mRNA level under fed condition (at 5 h post-feeding). In the visceral adipose tissue, LPL mRNA number per tissue weight was significantly higher in the fed condition than in the starved condition, irrespective of the dietary lipid levels. Dietary lipid levels did not affect the visceral adipose tissue LPL mRNA levels under fed or starved conditions. Our results demonstrate that both feeding conditions and dietary lipid levels alter the liver LPL mRNA levels, while only the feeding conditions but not dietary lipid levels cause changes in the visceral adipose LPL mRNA level. It was concluded that the liver and visceral adipose LPL gene expression of red sea bream seems to be regulated in a tissue-specific fashion by the nutritional state.     

Inflammation may modulate IL-6 and C-reactive protein gene expression in the adipose tissue: the role of IL-6 cell membrane receptor

Only few studies have been addressed to the presence and regulation of C-reactive protein (CRP) gene expression in different districts of adipose tissue, and no study has investigated the role of adipose tissue in presence of inflammation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the inflammatory involvement of either adipose tissue or adipose cells (adipocytes and stromal cells, respectively) in patients with chronic inflammatory disease, focusing on regional adipose tissue CRP gene expression. Eighteen patients with inflammatory disease and 14 healthy controls were enrolled. All subjects underwent specific surgical procedures. Inflamed and noninflamed patients provided samples of subcutaneous and/or omental adipose tissue. All samples were analyzed by RT-PCR and real-time PCR for specific gene expression. In addition, both adipocytes and stromal cells were studied by real-time PCR and immunoprecipitation to evaluate either gene or protein expression of CRP. Our results (real-time PCR) demonstrated a higher gene expression of CRP, IL-6, and both IL-6 membrane receptors in subcutaneous samples of inflamed patients than in healthy controls. Furthermore, in omental fragments of inflamed patients, an enhanced mRNA abundance of the same genes, compared with subcutaneous, was observed. The results obtained at cellular level did not provide evidence of any difference between adipocytes and stromal cell CRP gene expression, whereas immunoprecipitation demonstrated the presence of CRP in inflamed subjects. These results provide first-time evidence of the involvement of adipose tissue in the course of chronic inflammatory diseases, with a different degree of participation of the different adipose tissue districts.     

Comparison of isotope-labeled amino acid incorporation rates (CILAIR) provides a quantitative method to study tissue secretomes

Adipose tissue is an endocrine organ involved in regulation of whole-body energy metabolism via storage of lipids and secretion of various peptide hormones (adipokines). We previously characterized the adipose tissue secretome and showed that [(13)C]lysine incorporation into secreted proteins can be used to determine the origin of identified proteins. In the present study we determined the effect of insulin on the secretome by comparing incorporation rates of (13)C-labeled lysine in the presence and absence of insulin. Human visceral adipose tissue from one patient was divided over six dishes. After subsequent washes to remove serum proteins, [(13)C]lysine-containing medium was added. Three dishes also received 60 nm insulin. The other three were controls. After 72 h of culture, media were collected and processed separately, involving concentration by ultrafiltration and fractionation by SDS-PAGE followed by in-gel digestion of excised bands and LC-MS/MS analyses. The obtained spectra were used for database searching and calculation of heavy/light ratios. The three control data sets shared 342 proteins of which 156 were potentially secreted and contained label. The three insulin-derived data sets shared 361 proteins of which 141 were potentially secreted and contained label. After discarding secreted proteins with very low label incorporation, 121 and 113 proteins remained for control and insulin data sets, respectively. The average coefficient of variation for control triplicates was 10.0% and for insulin triplicates was 18.3%. By comparing heavy/light ratios in the absence and presence of insulin we found 24 up-regulated proteins and four down-regulated proteins, and 58 proteins showed no change. Proteins involved in the endoplasmic reticulum stress response and in extracellular matrix remodeling were up-regulated by insulin. In conclusion, comparison of isotope-labeled amino acid incorporation rates (CILAIR) allows quantitative assessment of changes in protein secretion without the need for 100% label incorporation, which cannot be reached in differentiated tissues or cells.     

Selective Augmentation of Stem Cell Populations in Structural Fat Grafts for Maxillofacial Surgery

Structural fat grafting utilizes the centrifugation of liposuction aspirates to create a graded density of adipose tissue. This study was performed to qualitatively investigate the effects of centrifugation on stem cells present in adipose tissue. Liposuction aspirates were obtained from healthy donors and either not centrifuged or centrifuged at 1,800 rpm for 3 minutes. The obtained fat volumes were divided into three layers and then analyzed. The results demonstrate that centrifugation induces a different distribution of stem cells in the three layers. The high-density layer displays the highest expression of mesenchymal stem cell and endothelial markers. The low-density layer exhibits an enrichment of multipotent stem cells. We conclude that appropriate centrifugation concentrates stem cells. This finding may influence the clinical practice of liposuction aspirate centrifugation and enhance graft uptake.     

In vitro insulin-like actions of the growth factor from the tapeworm, Spirometra mansonoides

In vitro actions of purified plerocercoid growth factor (PGF) were compared with those of insulin and human growth hormone (hGH) in adipose tissue from normal male rats. Insulin-like effects were measured by the ability of PGF, insulin, or hGH to stimulate oxidation of [U-14C]glucose to 14CO2, to stimulate lipogenesis, and to inhibit epinephrine-induced lipolysis. PGF and insulin stimulated significant increases in glucose oxidation and lipogenesis in adipose tissue that had not been preincubated as well as in tissue that had been preincubated. hGH stimulated insulin-like effects only in tissue that had been preincubated for 3 hr. Insulin, hGH, and PGF inhibited epinephrine-induced lipolysis of preincubated (3 hr) adipose tissue. hGH produced a dramatic lipolytic response in tissue freshly removed from normal rats but no dose of PGF was lipolytic. PGF did not displace 125I-insulin from its receptors on adipocytes but did competitively inhibit 125I-hGH binding to adipocytes. These results suggest that PGF has direct insulin-like actions which are initiated by binding a GH receptor, but PGF had no anti-insulin action and the insulin-like activity of PGF was unaffected by refractoriness of adipose tissue to GH.     

Cellular and enzymatic changes in porcine adipose tissue during growth

Experiments were designed to define some of the cellular and metabolic changes in various areas of porcine adipose tissue during growth and to establish a relationship between these changes and the accumulation of fat in the domestic pig. 35 male castrate pigs were killed at various ages from late fetal to 6.5 months. The following determinations were made on each animal: (1) total carcass fat, (2) adipose cell size and number by fixation of adipose tissue with osmium tetroxide, and (3) the activities of acetyl CoA carboxylase, citrate cleavage enzyme, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and malic enzyme from perirenal adipose tissue and each of the three layers of subcutaneous backfat. Carcass adipose tissue expanded by a combination of adipocyte hyperplasia and hypertrophy up to 5 months, after which adipose expansion was accomplished by cellular hypertrophy only, with no significant increase in cell number. The activities of the selected lipogenic enzymes (expressed on an adipose cell basis) increased markedly at weaning and again during the rapid increase in percentage of body fat between 3.5 and 5 months. Enzyme activities reached a peak at 5 months, after which activities decreased to values approaching mature levels.     

Adipose compartments of the upper eyelid: anatomy applied to blepharoplasty

Many authors have indicated the presence of ectopic or accessory upper eyelid fat pads, but the effective rate of eyelid fat variations and the corresponding clinical features are still unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the variability of upper lid fat and to define the anatomical landmarks of the adipose pockets of the upper lid. From January of 1998 to January of 2002, the authors investigated the upper eyelid fat compartments of 47 patients who underwent upper blepharoplasty. To support surgical findings, 11 fresh cadavers were also investigated; the anatomy of the intraorbital fat and of the upper eyelid fat compartments was reviewed. Ten patients (21.3 percent) showed an accessory fat pad in the upper lid, which was found on both sides in nine cases. In all patients, the third fat pad was situated lateral to the two classic compartments described by Castanares, behind the orbital septum. Surgical dissections demonstrated that this fat pad derived from the preaponeurotic fat. Anatomical dissections in three cadavers demonstrated an accessory fat compartment protruding under the inferior border of the lacrimal gland. This protruding fat derived from the preaponeurotic fat in all cases and might justify the clinical appearance of a bulge or fullness in the lateral third of the upper eyelid. In the authors' experience, the presence of an accessory upper eyelid fat pad was a frequent finding during blepharoplasty; it could be found and actually resected in about 21 percent of all cases. Surgical and experimental findings put this element as a lateral physiological extension of the preaponeurotic fat that can anteriorly protrude under the inferior border of the lacrimal gland toward the orbital septum. The clinical appearance may be a bulge or fullness in the upper eyelid, and its resection can better define the lateral one third of the supratarsal fold.     

The measurement of nanograms of tocopherol from needle aspiration biopsies of adipose tissue: normal and abetalipoproteinemic subjects

A method for the analysis of tocopherol in human adipose tissue using high performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence spectrometry is described; results are expressed relative to total triglyceride content measured by the reaction of the methylated fatty acids with hydroxylamine and ferric chloride. The tocopherol contents of adipose tissue obtained at surgery and by the needle aspiration biopsy technic of ambulatory human subjects (who did not take supplemental vitamin E) were found to be virtually identical. The tocopherol content of adipose tissue by the needle aspiration technic was 262 +/- 33 ng tocopherol/mg triglyceride; this value was increased twofold or more in persons ingesting additional vitamin E. Patients with abetalipoproteinemia (ABL) who absorb tocopherol poorly and have extremely low levels of plasma and red blood cell tocopherol also had a low concentration of adipose tissue tocopherol. However, some ABL patients on massive supplementation with vitamin E (approximately 10 g daily) did achieve normal concentrations of adipose tissue tocopherol.     

Interrelationships in rats of tissue pools of cholecalciferol and 25-hydroxycholecalciferol formed in u.v. light.

Vitamin D-deficient rats were irradiated with u.v. light three times weekly for 30 min for several weeks. D3 (cholecalciferol) and 25(OH)D3 (25-hydroxycholecalciferol) concentrations in skin, plasma, muscle and adipose tissue were measured. In other experiments, isolated skin or the whole animal was irradiated once and the cholecalciferol response monitored. Only a small fraction of the 7-dehydrocholesterol in skin is converted into D3 (less than 2%), and the presence of fur decreases the proportion converted into 20% of that occurring in shaved rat skin. D3 formed in the skin disappears relatively slowly, so that about 90% has gone after 7 days. In normal rats 10 micrograms of D3 formed over 2 h irradiation only caused a small rise in plasma D3 concentration over the following week, indicative of a high rate of clearance from this tissue. Irradiation of vitamin D-deficient rats for a prolonged period raised plasma D3 and 25(OH)D3 concentrations to a constant value. D3, but not 25(OH)D3, could be found in adipose tissue and muscle. Prolonged irradiation of normal rats showed these tissues and plasma could hold very large amounts of D3. Pharmacokinetic analysis of the changes in D3 concentration in rats showed that the disposition kinetics of D3 was explained by a two-compartment model with half-lives of 13.8 and 7.7 days. The volume of distribution of the more-slowly-turning-over compartment was 500 ml, which presumably reflects the large amounts of D3 that can accumulate in adipose tissue. Rat skin can synthesize about 0.85 ng of D3/mJ of u.v. light energy, but it seems that not all this is available to the rat. Adipose-tissue D3 is available for use by the rat, the t1/2 being 12.0 days.     

White adipose tissue composition in the free-ranging fat-tailed dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus medius; Primates), a tropical hibernator

In temperate species, hibernation is enhanced by high levels of essential fatty acids in white adipose tissue. Essential fatty acids cannot be synthesized by mammals, thus nutritional ecology should play a key role in physiological adaptations to hibernation. Tropical hibernators are exposed to different physiological demands than hibernators in temperate regions and are expected to be subject to different constraints. The aims of this study were to assess whether or not the tropical hibernator Cheirogaleus medius shows biochemical changes in its white adipose tissue before and during hibernation. A capture-recapture study was combined with feeding observations in western Madagascar. Before and after hibernation, 77 samples of white adipose tissue from 57 individuals of C. medius, as well as dietary items eaten during pre-hibernation fattening, were sampled and analyzed for their fatty acid composition. In contrast to temperate hibernators, C. medius exhibits extremely low essential fatty acid concentrations in its white adipose tissue (2.5%) prior to hibernation. The fatty acid pattern of the white adipose tissue did not change during pre-hibernation fattening and did not reflect dietary fatty acid composition. During hibernation, fat stores showed only minor but significant compositional changes. Because of its prevalence, the main fuel during hibernation was the monounsaturated oleic acid, which seemed to be preferentially synthesized from dietary carbohydrates. Results suggest that essential fatty acids do not represent an ecological limitation for hibernation in the tropics, at least not in the fat-tailed dwarf lemur.     

基于低场核磁共振T1-T2谱技术定性和定量分析罗非鱼各组织的方法探究

形体指标的检测是鱼类常规营养评定的重要组成部分。目前,分析鱼类组织体重比的方法会对鱼体造成损伤,且取样过程复杂,迫切需要无损快速检测技术分析鱼体组织占比。低场核磁共振技术具有快速无损检测的特点,已有研究利用低场核磁共振T1谱技术检测小鼠内脂肪组织体积,但尚未有研究应用低场核磁共振T1-T2谱技术对鱼类各组织器官进行定性和定量分析。基于此,利用低场核磁共振T1-T2谱技术,将分离后的罗非鱼的肌肉组织、腹腔脂肪组织、肝脏组织、肠道组织单独以及混合后进行扫描分析,结果发现利用低场核磁共振T1-T2谱技术可以分离罗非鱼肌肉组织和腹腔脂肪组织,但是无法区分肝脏组织和肠道组织。进一步对能够实现分离的肌肉组织和脂肪组织建立定量分析的模型,分析罗非鱼组织信号强度与组织重量相关性,结果显示,肌肉组织相关性R2=0.974 3,腹腔脂肪组织相关性R2=0965 0。并利用罗非鱼活体验证了肌肉组织定量分析模型的可靠性,将活体扫描肌肉信号大小转换成肌肉组织重量并分析其与全鱼体重相关性,结果显示肌肉组织重量与体重相关性R2=0.806 9。研究表明,在鱼类营养代谢研究中,可以利用低场核磁共振T1-T2谱技术快速无损地定量分析鱼体内肌肉组织含量。     

猪Gli1基因的克隆、表达谱分析及脂肪组织特异性表达载体的构建

Hedgehog(Hh)信号通路对动物脂肪沉积具有抑制作用,并且从果蝇到脊椎动物具有高度保守性,但在家猪研究中鲜见报道。文章选择家猪Hh通路的转录激活因子Gli1进行研究,通过RT-PCR结合RACE技术,首次获得家猪Gli1基因cDNA全长,利用Real-time PCR对家猪Gli1基因在不同组织中的表达丰度进行了分析,并构建了真核表达载体和脂肪组织特异性表达载体。结果表明:猪Gli1基因cDNA全长3 576 bp,基因组序列全长10 715 bp,共12个外显子,编码1 106个氨基酸。生物信息学分析表明,猪Gli1为不稳定亲水性蛋白,不具有跨膜结构域和信号肽序列,但具有锌指结构与核定位序列。对7个物种的Gli1蛋白序列和基因组序列相似性进行分析,发现各物种间序列相似性均在80%以上,说明Gli1在物种间高度保守。组织表达谱分析表明,Gli1仅在成体猪舌组织中表达;在家猪脂肪组织发育进程中,Gli1仅在出生1周的猪脂肪组织中检测到微弱表达,但1月龄及3月龄猪脂肪组织中均检测不到表达,由此推断猪Gli1表达与脂肪组织发育呈负相关。最后,将猪Gli1编码区克隆到真核表达载体pIRES2-EGFP,体外转染实验证明该载体能够正确表达猪Gli1,另外还构建了脂肪组织特异性表达载体,为构建脂肪组织特异性转基因动物奠定基础。