| Methods We employed the RNA-Seq analysis to characterize the global transcriptome changes in the liver of intact male pigs (SHAM), castrated male pigs (CAS) and castrated male pigs with testosterone treatment (CAS T). TopHat was used to identify testosterone-regulated alternative splicing (AS) events. After being annotated, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were further performed for the identified common differential expressed AS genes between three groups. Results (1) Castration and testosterone treatment can introduce new mRNA alternative splicing events in the liver of miniature pigs fed a HFC. (2) There are 113 common differential expressed AS genes between SHAM vs.CAS and CAS T vs.CAS groups, which including many lipid and glucose metabolism-related genes, i.e., AGPAT6、NR1H4、PPARD and GK. (3) According to GO and KEGG analysis, we found that the 113 genes mainly enriched in fatty acid metabolic process, glycerolipid metabolism, response to glucose and adipocytokine signaling pathway. Conclusions Testosterone deficiency affects mRNA alternative splicing in the liver of miniature pigs fed a HFC. Moreover, testosterone deficiency may promote diet-induced NAFLD through regulating the alternative splicing of genes involved in lipid and glucose metabolism. Further study is needed to explore the relationship between testosterone and the AS genes and their new transcripts. |