A new study led by Prof. Yin Yulong from the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, conducted integrated snRNA-seq and spatial transcriptome analysis of the longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle between TB and Duroc pigs at 180 days, which revealed a discrepancy in the expression profile between TB and Duroc pigs with cellular heterogeneity and spatial specificity. This study, published in Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle on March 13, highlights important contribution to metabolic regulation of interaction between various cell populations in skeletal muscle and provides potential secretory genes to be diagnostic and intervention targets for metabolic diseases in humans and meat quality in pigs. Guo Liu serves as the first author of this paper, while Prof. Li Fengna and Yin Yulong are the corresponding authors.

Producing high-quality pork products has become a critical objective for the high-quality development of the pig farming industry, and meat quality is mainly affected by intramuscular fat (IMF) content and myofiber type composition. Muscle and adipose tissues, two important metabolic and secretory organs, communicate with each other through secretory factors, also known as the "muscle-adipose axis". Cell–cell crosstalk between myogenic, adipogenic and immune cells in skeletal muscle to regulate energy metabolism and lipid deposition has received considerable attention. The specific mechanisms of interaction between the different cells in skeletal muscle are still unclear.

Recently, taking obese Taoyuan black pigs and lean Duroc pigs as research objects, the research team made innovative use of integrated snRNA-seq and spatial transcriptome analysis to reveal the close interaction between adipogenic and myogenic cells in porcine LD muscle from a novel perspective of “muscle-adipose” crosstalk. It was confirmed that Fibro/Adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) are an important source of secretory proteins in skeletal muscle and participate in intercellular communication. The molecular mechanism of the skeletal muscle microenvironment constructed by secretory proteins to regulate muscle fiber type composition and muscle metabolism pattern was clarified, and several key myokines and adipokines involved in muscle-adipose interaction were identified.

“These finding not only provide a theoretical foundation and potential target for the nutritional regulation and genetic breeding of pork quality, but also bring inspiration for the study of human obesity and metabolic diseases using pig models,” said Prof. Li Fengna, the corresponding author of the interesting study.

Contact: Yulong Yin; Fengna Li

E-mail: yinyulong@isa.ac.cn; lifengna@isa.ac.cn

Mechanism of muscle-adipose interaction in porcine skeletal muscle microenvironment (Imaged by Liu Guo)