Changes in the gene expression of adiponectin and glucose transporter 12 (GLUT12) in lactating and non-lactating cows |
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| Authors: | Tokushi KOMATSU Fumiaki ITOH Ryosuke SAKUMOTO Koichi HODATE Yoshiaki OBARA Shiro KUSHIBIKI |
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| Institution: | National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Tsukuba,;National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Tsukuba,;School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Kitasato University, Towada and;Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, Aoba, Sendai, Japan |
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| Abstract: | Glucose delivery and uptake by the mammary gland is a rate‐limiting step in milk synthesis. Insulin resistance is believed to increase throughout the body following the onset of lactation. To study glucose metabolism in peak‐, late‐, and non‐lactating cows we analyzed the expression of an adipokine, namely, adiponectin, decreased insulin resistance, leptin, and a novel insulin‐responsive glucose transporter (GLUT12) in the adipose tissue and mammary gland by using real‐time polymerase chain reaction. Our results demonstrated that the mRNA level of adiponectin in the adipose tissue was greater in non‐lactating cows than in peak‐lactating cows. In the adipose tissue, there were no significant differences in the abundance of GLUT12 mRNA between the peak‐, late‐, and non‐lactating cows. In contrast, in the mammary gland, the mRNA level of GLUT12 was greater in non‐lactating cows than in peak‐ and late‐lactating cows. In the adipose tissue, the mRNA level of leptin and peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor gamma 2 (PPARγ2) was greater in non‐lactating cows than in peak‐lactating cows. The results of the present study suggest that in lactating cows adiponectin plays an important role in insulin resistance in the adipose tissue; in the mammary gland, GLUT12 expression is believed to be an important factor for insulin‐dependent glucose metabolism. |
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| Keywords: | adiponectin adipose tissue glucose transporter 12 Holstein cow mammary gland |
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