Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Reveals a More Complicated Adipogenic Process in Intramuscular Stem Cells than That of Subcutaneous Vascular Stem Cells

Fat-related traits have great influences on pork quality. As different fat tissues have different biochemical profiles depending on their location, intramuscular fat contributes to gustatory qualities, while subcutaneous fat is considered as a negative factor associated with growth performance. In this study, both primary intramuscular and subcutaneous vascular stem cells (IVSCs and SVSCs) could be differentiated into mature adipocytes, though the IVSC differentiation efficiency was lower. By comparative analysis of transcriptomes, 2524 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found between two VSCs before differentiation, while only 551 DEGs were found and enriched in two pathways including biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids after differentiation. This result indicated that differentiated VSCs were more similar. During differentiation, more DEGs existed in IVSCs than that in SVSCs, suggesting that adipogenesis of IVSCs might be more complex. Additionally, the expression level of DEGs involved in the adipogenic process helps to explain the difference of differentiation efficiency between IVSCs and SVSCs