Effects of Betaine on DNA Methylation Level, Expression Level, and Fat Synthesis of VNN1 in Goose Hepatocytes

作者：Zhi Yang, Usman Nazir, Xinfang Wang, Xucheng Zheng, Hai-Ming Yang, Zhi-Yue Wang · 发表于：Animals · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.3390/ani16040570 · 研究领域：Medicine

Simple Summary This study demonstrates for the first time in goose hepatocytes that betaine ameliorates fat accumulation by epigenetically modulating the VNN1 gene. The novel mechanism involves betaine’s ability to increase DNA methylation levels in the VNN1 promoter region, which is associated with the downregulation of VNN1 expression. This epigenetic regulation occurs alongside the suppression of key lipogenic genes (FAS, SCD, SREBPQ), establishing a direct link between betaine-induced hypermethylation of VNN1 and the reduction of hepatic lipid synthesis in a waterfowl model of steatosis.