Interpretive Summary: C/EBPα promotes triacylglycerol synthesis via regulating PPARG promoter activity in goat mammary epithelial cells

By: Huibin Tian, Jun Luo, Peng Guo, Chun Li, Xueying Zhang

Goat milk is beneficial for human health because of its nutritional value, especially milk fat, which is plentiful in goat milk. The molecular mechanism of milk fat synthesis is of great importance for developing processing technology and using genetic approaches to improve goat milk quality. The purpose of this study was to identify the role of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α (C/EBPα) in goat mammary gland epithelial cells (GMECs) to provide support for understanding the mechanism of milk fat synthesis. Overexpression of C/EBPα increased the contents of lipid droplets, triacylglycerol, and cholesterol in GMECs. The expression levels of genes related to lipid metabolism were influenced after C/EBPα overexpression or inhibition. The promoter transcriptional activity of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, which is the key transcription factor in milk fat synthesis, was regulated by C/EBPα through its binding regions. Our results indicate that C/EBPα affects lipid metabolism in GMECs by regulating PPARG transcription. This study provides support for milk fat synthesis regulation and improvement of milk quality in goats.