Distribution and quantitative analysis ofCIDEaandCIDEcin broiler chickens: accounting for differential fat deposition between strains

1. Differences in the expression of CIDEa and CIDEc in 20 different tissues were examined. Both CIDEa and CIDEc mRNA transcripts were predominantly but variably expressed in white adipose tissue (WAT) but were also expressed at moderate levels in the kidney and liver and at lower levels in the ovary. Interestingly, among WAT types, both CIDEa and CIDEc were expressed at the lowest levels in heart coronary WAT. 2. To better understand the roles of CIDEa and CIDEc in the fat deposition of broiler chickens, the differences in lipid droplet (LD) size and mRNA levels of CIDEa and CIDEc between lean-type and fat-type broiler chicken lines were studied. LD sizes were larger in fat-type broiler lines, and CIDEa and CIDEc mRNA levels in white adipose, kidney and liver tissues were significantly higher in fat-type broiler lines than in their lean counterparts. 3. Developmental expression patterns of CIDEa and CIDEc mRNA were analysed in different tissue types (WAT, liver and kidney) in Arbor Acres broiler chickens, and CIDEa and CIDEc mRNA expression levels increased during sequential developmental stages, achieving peak expression levels at week 6. 4. These observations suggest that the functions of CIDEa and CIDEc reflect inherent characteristics of lipid metabolism that contribute to the differences in fat deposition between strains. The results in this study contribute to a more robust understanding of the tissue distribution and expression patterns of CIDEa and CIDEc mRNA and facilitate further research concerning the molecular mechanism underlying fat deposition in broiler chickens.