Development of an immortalized porcine intramuscular pre-adipocyte cell line to facilitate adipogenic investigation in vitro.

Abstract

UNLABELLED: Intramuscular fat (IMF) deposition critically influences pork quality, necessitating reliable in vitro models to investigate its regulatory mechanisms. However, developing cost-effective porcine intramuscular pre-adipocyte (IMPA) seed cells capable of sustained proliferation and complete adipogenic differentiation remains technically challenging. Here, we established an immortalized porcine IMPA cell line through lentiviral-mediated transduction of simian virus 40 large T antigen (SV40T). This cell line retained differentiation capacity for over 25 passages, addressing limitations in primary cell lifespan. Functional evaluations demonstrated robust proliferative activity via CCK-8 assays, sustained telomerase activity, and minimal apoptosis, confirming stable growth characteristics during long-term culture. Furthermore, adipogenic induction assays revealed preserved differentiation potential, evidenced by lipid droplet accumulation and adipogenic marker expression. Collectively, this immortalized porcine IMPA cell line provides a valuable and reproducible model for elucidating molecular mechanisms underlying IMF deposition, offering significant utility for agricultural and biomedical research. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12917-025-05204-x.