{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T11:07:47Z","timestamp":1788952067818,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788912000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003392","name":"Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2023J01446"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023J01446"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003392","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Modern Agricultural Technology System Program of Fujian Province","award":["2019-144"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019-144"]}]},{"name":"Fujian Province Young and Middle-Aged Teacher Education Research Project","award":["JAT220059"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JAT220059"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Vet. Sci.","Veterinary Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Myofiber type determines pork quality, with type I fibers conferring superior traits via myosin heavy chain 7 (Myh7). As a crucial myokine, interleukin-6 (IL-6) plays important roles in skeletal muscle development, whether it participates in myh7 transcription and type I myofiber differentiation remains unclear. To address this, we compared Putian (adipose-type) and DLY (lean-type) pigs through in vivo myofiber typing and in vitro satellite cell (SC) cultures, supplemented by ChIP-PCR and dual-luciferase reporter assays to investigate molecular mechanisms. Our results showed that Putian pigs exhibited significantly higher proportions of type I myofibers, myh7 mRNA and Myh7 protein expression, and IL-6 levels than DLY pigs. In vitro, IL-6 treatment promoted SC differentiation toward type I myofibers. Mechanistically, STAT3 bound directly to the myh7 promoter in a phosphorylation-dependent manner to enhance its transcription, as confirmed by ChIP-PCR and dual-luciferase reporter assays. STAT3 was required for IL-6-induced myh7 upregulation, and STAT3 inhibition abrogated this effect. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that muscle-derived IL-6 promotes type I myofiber differentiation by activating STAT3 phosphorylation and myh7 transcription, providing a candidate target for improving pork quality through selective breeding or nutritional intervention.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vetsci13090927","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T09:24:02Z","timestamp":1788945842000},"page":"927","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Myogenic IL-6 Mediates Myofiber Type Transition in Porcine Skeletal Muscle Satellite Cells via the STAT3\/myh7 Pathway"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Rui","family":"Cao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Engineering Research Center for Animal Breeding and Sustainable Production, College of Animal Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Hui","family":"Wei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Engineering Research Center for Animal Breeding and Sustainable Production, College of Animal Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Chao","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Engineering Research Center for Animal Breeding and Sustainable Production, College of Animal Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Qiuming","family":"Deng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Engineering Research Center for Animal Breeding and Sustainable Production, College of Animal Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Chongfan","family":"Du","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Engineering Research Center for Animal Breeding and Sustainable Production, College of Animal Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3255-5900","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ruiyi","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Engineering Research Center for Animal Breeding and Sustainable Production, College of Animal Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Tianfang","family":"Xiao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Engineering Research Center for Animal Breeding and Sustainable Production, College of Animal Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7348-4614","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Weimin","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Engineering Research Center for Animal Breeding and Sustainable Production, College of Animal Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"130781","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodchem.2021.130781","article-title":"Effects of dietary grape seed proanthocyanidin extract supplementation on meat quality, muscle fiber characteristics and antioxidant capacity of finishing pigs","volume":"367","author":"Xu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Huang, C., Zhong, L., Zou, X., Huang, Y., Cai, L., and Ma, J. 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