Evaluation of the effect of low dietary fermentable carbohydrate content on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood characteristics, and meat quality in finishing pigs

A total of 96 pigs (49.23±3.20 kg) were used in an 11 wk growth trial to evaluate the effect of fermentable carbohydrate (FC) content on growth performance, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrient, blood profile, and meat quality. The dietary treatments were: i) negative control (NC), basal diet, ii) positive control (PC), NC+antibiotics (positive control diet with 5 ppm flavomycin), iii) PCL, PC-13% lower FC, and iv) NCL, NC-13% lower FC. The growth performance (average daily gain, average daily feed intake, and gain/feed) didn’t differ among treatments through the whole experiment. These pigs fed the PCL diet had the greater (p<0.05) apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter than those from PC and NC treatment at the end of the experiment. No differences were observed in white blood cell (WBC), red blood cell (RBC), and lymphocyte concentration among different treatments. After the feeding period, meat samples were collected from the pigs at slaughter. The pigs in NCL and PCL treatments had greater (p<0.05) backfat thickness and lower lean percentage. The color value of loin was higher (p<0.05) in NCL treatment compared to PCL treatment. Also, the NCL treatment had higher (p<0.05) marbling value than PC treatment. The drip loss was depressed by PCL and NCL treatment comapared to NC treatments. The water holding capacity (WHC) was higher (p<0.05) in NC and PCL treatment. In conclusion, the low FC can improve digestibility and meat quality of finishing pigs.

Supplemental effect of probiotic Bacillus subtilis B2A on productivity, organ weight, intestinal Salmonella microflora, and breast meat quality of growing broiler chicks

One-day-old Ross 308 male broiler chicks were used to investigate the additive effect during growth of Bacillus subtilis B2A derived from soil samples on productivity, organ weight, intestinal Salmonella microflora, and breast meat quality. Five hundred seventy-six birds (46 ± 0.5 g) were fed 3 different levels of B. subtilis B2A (1.1 × 10(4), 1.0 × 10(5), and 1.0 × 10(6) cfu), in a basal diet based on corn-soybean meal, for 28 d. In the current study, feed intake and feed conversion during 1 to 28 d showed significant improvement as dietary B. subtilis B2A increased from 1.1 × 10(4) to 1.0 × 10(6) cfu (linear, P < 0.05). All blood parameters, such as white blood cells, red blood cells, and lymphocyte and haptoglobin concentrations, were not influenced by B. subtilis B2A added into the diet; however, the weights of the bursa of Fabricius were significantly increased linearly in B. subtilis B2A-fed groups (P < 0.05). Bacillus subtilis B2A supplementation was associated with reduced intestinal Salmonella burden (linear and quadratic, P < 0.05). Breast meat pH and color were not affected by B. subtilis B2A, but 1 d drip loss was decreased (linear, P < 0.05). Our observations suggest that B. subtilis B2A benefits productivity and reduces Salmonella in broilers.

Effects of multistrain probiotics on growth performance, apparent ileal nutrient digestibility, blood characteristics, cecal microbial shedding, and excreta odor contents in broilers

This experiment was conducted to investigate the efficacy of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus subtilis, and Clostridium butyricum supplementation in broilers. A total of 400 one-day-old mixed sex Ross 308 broilers with an initial average BW of 46 ± 0.5 g were randomly allotted into 4 treatments with 5 replicate pens per treatment and 20 broilers in each pen for 35 d. Dietary treatments were (1) an antibiotic-free diet (CON), (2) CON + 5 mg/kg of avilamycin, (3) CON + 1 × 10(5) cfu of multistrain probiotics/kg of diet (P1), and (4) CON + 2 × 10(5) cfu of multistrain probiotics/kg of diet (P2). Broilers fed the P1 and P2 diets had greater BW gain than broilers fed the CON diet during d 22 to 35 (P = 0.01) and overall (P = 0.02). Feed conversion ratios in P1 and P2 were decreased (P = 0.03) compared with that in CON from d 22 to 35. Ileal digestibility of most essential amino acids, with the exception of His and Phe, were increased (P < 0.05) in P1 and P2 compared with CON. Serum IgA and IgM concentrations in P2 were higher (P < 0.05) than those in CON. The cecal Lactobacillus numbers were increased (P = 0.02), and the counts of Escherichia coli were decreased (P = 0.03) in P1 and P2 compared with CON. Dietary supplementation with multistrain probiotics decreased (P < 0.05) the excreta NH3 content compared with the CON. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with multistrain probiotics improved broiler growth performance, ileal amino acids digestibility, and humoral immunity. Furthermore, the probiotics decreased the cecal numbers of E. coli and decreased the NH3 content of excreta.

TopBP1 deficiency impairs V(D)J recombination during lymphocyte development

TopBP1 was initially identified as a topoisomerase II-β-binding protein and it plays roles in DNA replication and repair. We found that TopBP1 is expressed at high levels in lymphoid tissues and is essential for early lymphocyte development. Specific abrogation of TopBP1 expression resulted in transitional blocks during early lymphocyte development. These defects were, in major part, due to aberrant V(D)J rearrangements in pro-B cells, double-negative and double-positive thymocytes. We also show that TopBP1 was located at sites of V(D)J rearrangement. In TopBP1-deficient cells, γ-H2AX foci were found to be increased. In addition, greater amount of γ-H2AX product was precipitated from the regions where TopBP1 was localized than from controls, indicating that TopBP1 deficiency results in inefficient DNA double-strand break repair. The developmental defects were rescued by introducing functional TCR αβ transgenes. Our data demonstrate a novel role for TopBP1 as a crucial factor in V(D)J rearrangement during the development of B, T and iNKT cells.

ROS-responsive activatable photosensitizing agent for imaging and photodynamic therapy of activated macrophages

The optical properties of macrophage-targeted theranostic nanoparticles (MacTNP) prepared from a Chlorin e6 (Ce6)-hyaluronic acid (HA) conjugate can be activated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) in macrophage cells. MacTNP are nonfluorescent and nonphototoxic in their native state. However, when treated with ROS, especially peroxynitrite, they become highly fluorescent and phototoxic. In vitro cell studies show that MacTNP emit near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence inside activated macrophages. The NIR fluorescence is quenched in the extracellular environment. MacTNP are nontoxic in macrophages up to a Ce6 concentration of 10 μM in the absence of light. However, MacTNP become phototoxic upon illumination in a light dose-dependent manner. In particular, significantly higher phototoxic effect is observed in the activated macrophage cells compared to human dermal fibroblasts and non-activated macrophages. The ROS-responsive MacTNP, with their high target-to-background ratio, may have a significant potential in selective NIR fluorescence imaging and in subsequent photodynamic therapy of atherosclerosis with minimum side effects.

Effects of single or combined dietary supplementation of β-glucan and kefir on growth performance, blood characteristics and meat quality in broilers

1. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary β-glucan and kefir (a fermented milk product) on growth performance, blood profiles, relative organ weight and meat quality in broilers. 2. A total of 375 day-of-hatch mixed sex ROSS 308 broilers (BW of 46 ± 0.1 g) were used in a 5-week experiment and randomly allotted to one of the following dietary treatments: (1) NC, basal diet; (2) PC, basal diet + 40 mg/kg of avilamycin; (3) B, NC + 0.1% β-glucan; (4) K, NC + 0.1% kefir; (5) BK, NC + 0.1% β-glucan + 0.1% kefir. 3. During weeks 0-3, broilers in B, K and BK treatments had higher body weight gain (BWG) than those in NC treatment. During weeks 4-5, BK treatment had a higher BWG than NC treatment. Overall, broilers given PC, K and BK diets had higher BWG than those given NC diet. The feed efficiency ratio (FCR) was improved by PC treatment. 4. Relative liver weight was increased by B treatment, whereas the relative weight of breast meat and gizzard was higher in BK group than that in NC group. Broilers given PC, B and BK diets had greater breast meat redness value and reduced drip loss at d 5 and d 7. The cooking loss was also reduced by B and BK treatments compared with NC treatment. 5. In conclusion, the results suggested that inclusion of 0.1% β-glucan and 0.1% kefir, either individually or combined, would improve growth performance and benefit meat quality in broiler chickens.

Effects of levan-type fructan supplementation on growth performance, digestibility, blood profile, fecal microbiota, and immune responses after lipopolysaccharide challenge in growing pigs

In Exp. 1, 80 growing pigs (27.1±0.7 kg) were used in a 42-d experiment to evaluate the effect of levan-type fructan on growth performance, digestibility, blood profile, and fecal microbiota. Pigs were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 treatments, according to initial BW and gender, with 5 replicate pens per treatment and 2 barrows and 2 gilts per pen. Treatments were corn-soybean meal-based diets supplemented with 0%, 0.05%, 0.10%, or 0.20% levan-type fructan. Average daily gain and G:F increased (quadratic, P<0.05), as dietary levan-type fructan increased from 0 to 0.2%. Similarly, the apparent total tract digestibility of N and GE increased (quadratic, P<0.05), as dietary supplementation of levan-type fructan increased. Dietary levan-type fructan supplementation increased fecal Lactobacillus counts linearly (P<0.05). In Exp. 2, 20 individually housed barrows (26.2±0.6 kg) were used to evaluate immune responses after an Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. Pigs were fed corn-soybean meal-based diets supplemented with 0% or 0.10% levan-type fructan for 42 d. At d 42, 5 pigs from each treatment were injected with E. coli LPS (0.01% of BW) and the other 5 pigs with sterile saline solution, resulting in a 2×2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Blood was taken 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 h after challenge. Challenge with LPS decreased blood lymphocyte percentage and had an interactive effect with levan-type fructan inclusion at 4, 6, and 8 h (P<0.01). Levan-type fructan supplementation increased (P<0.05) white blood cells at 6 and 8 h, and increased (P<0.05) lymphocyte percentage at 8 h after the challenge. Lipopolysaccharide injection increased (P<0.05) rectal temperature at 2 and 4 h, and had an interactive effect (P<0.05) with levan-type fructan supplementation at 4 h after the challenge. At 2, 4, 6, and 8 h, serum cortisol, tumor necrosis factor-α, and IL-6 concentration increased (P<0.05) by LPS challenge, and there was an interactive effect between LPS challenge and the inclusion of levan-type fructan (P<0.05). Dietary levan-type fructan supplementation decreased serum cortisol concentration at 8 h, tumor necrosis factor-α concentration at 4, 6, and 8 h, and IL-6 concentration at 6 and 8 h after the challenge (P<0.05). In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 0.10% levan-type fructan can improve growth performance, digestibility, and fecal Lactobacillus counts, and has a beneficial effect on the immune response during an inflammatory challenge in growing pigs.

Efficient targeting and tumor retardation effect of pancreatic adenocarcinoma up-regulated factor (PAUF)-specific RNA replacement in pancreatic cancer mouse model

The soluble protein pancreatic adenocarcinoma up-regulated factor (PAUF) plays an important role in pancreatic tumor progression and has begun to attract attention as a therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer. We herein present PAUF RNA-targeting gene therapy strategies with both targeting and therapeutic function using trans-splicing ribozyme (TSR) in pancreatic cancer. We developed adenoviral PAUF-targeting TSR (Rz) containing a PAUF-specific internal guide sequence (IGS) determined by library screening. This Rz harbors suicide gene, herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) or firefly luciferase (Luc) as a transgene for 3' exon replacement of PAUF RNAs. Ad-Rz-TK, Rz harboring the HSV-tk, showed significant inhibition of tumor growth in vivo as well as PAUF-dependent cell death in vitro via a successful trans-splicing reaction. Selective induction of Rz-controlled transgene in PAUF-expressing pancreatic cancer was confirmed through noninvasive in vivo imaging; a luminescence signal from Rz harboring Luc (Ad-Rz-Luc) was detectable only in pancreatic tumor sites, not in normal mice. In addition, a [(125)I] FIAU signal reflecting thymidine kinase expression through SPECT and ex vivo biodistribution was co-localized with the tumor sites when we treated with Ad-Rz-TK in orthotopic xenograft model. Taken together, these results imply that PAUF-targeting TSR can contribute to successful targeted gene therapy for pancreatic cancer.

Low-mass-ion discriminant equation: a new concept for colorectal cancer screening

Blood metabolites can be detected as low-mass ions (LMIs) by mass spectrometry (MS). These LMIs may reflect the pathological changes in metabolism that occur as part of a disease state, such as cancer. We constructed a LMI discriminant equation (LOME) to investigate whether systematic LMI profiling might be applied to cancer screening. LMI information including m/z and mass peak intensity was obtained by five independent MALDI-MS analyses, using 1,127 sera collected from healthy individuals and cancer patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), breast cancer (BRC), gastric cancer (GC) and other types of cancer. Using a two-stage principal component analysis to determine weighting factors for individual LMIs and a two-stage LMI selection procedure, we selected a total of 104 and 23 major LMIs by the LOME algorithms for separating CRC from control and rest of cancer samples, respectively. CRC LOME demonstrated excellent discriminating power in a validation set (sensitivity/specificity: 93.21%/96.47%). Furthermore, in a fecal occult blood test (FOBT) of available validation samples, the discriminating power of CRC LOME was much stronger (sensitivity/specificity: 94.79%/97.96%) than that of the FOBT (sensitivity/specificity: 50.00%/100.0%), which is the standard CRC screening tool. The robust discriminating power of the LOME scheme was reconfirmed in screens for BRC (sensitivity/specificity: 92.45%/96.57%) and GC (sensitivity/specificity: 93.18%/98.85%). Our study demonstrates that LOMEs might be powerful noninvasive diagnostic tools with high sensitivity/specificity in cancer screening. The use of LOMEs could potentially enable screening for multiple diseases (including different types of cancer) from a single sampling of LMI information.

Effect of dietary levan fructan supplementation on growth performance, meat quality, relative organ weight, cecal microflora, and excreta noxious gas emission in broilers

A total of 720 1-d-old male Ross broilers (BW of 48.0±0.3 g) were used to evaluate the effects of dietary levan fructan supplementation on growth performance, meat quality, relative organ weight, cecal microflora, and excreta noxious gas emission in broilers. This experiment lasted 31 d. Broilers were randomly allotted to 1 of 3 dietary treatments: 1) CON, basal diet, 2) CON+0.25% fructan (FC1), and 3) CON+0.50% fructan (FC2). Each treatment contained 16 pens with 15 chicks per pen. Broilers on levan fructan supplementation treatments (FC1+FC2) had a lower (P=0.005 for d 15 to 31) ADFI and greater (P=0.005 for d 15 to 31 and P=0.022 for d 1 to 31) G:F than those on the CON. A decreased (P=0.031) relative spleen weight was observed with levan fructan supplementation treatments compared with the CON. Cecal E. coli and C. perfringens concentrations in levan fructan treatments were decreased, while cecal Lactobacillus, as well as Bifidobacteria, concentrations in levan fructan treatments were increased compared with the CON. However, excreta NH3 concentrations were decreased (P=0.013) in levan fructan treatments compared with the CON. In conclusion, fructan supplementation improved later stage growth performance, increased cecal Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria concentrations, and decreased cecal E. coli and C. perfringens concentrations, as well as excreta NH3 concentrations, in broilers.

Effects of levan-type fructan supplementation on growth performance, digestibility, blood profile, fecal microbiota, and immune responses after lipopolysaccharide challenge in growing pigs

In Exp. 1, 80 growing pigs (27.1±0.7 kg) were used in a 42-d experiment to evaluate the effect of levan-type fructan on growth performance, digestibility, blood profile, and fecal microbiota. Pigs were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 treatments, according to initial BW and gender, with 5 replicate pens per treatment and 2 barrows and 2 gilts per pen. Treatments were corn-soybean meal-based diets supplemented with 0%, 0.05%, 0.10%, or 0.20% levan-type fructan. Average daily gain and G:F increased (quadratic, P<0.05), as dietary levan-type fructan increased from 0 to 0.2%. Similarly, the apparent total tract digestibility of N and GE increased (quadratic, P<0.05), as dietary supplementation of levan-type fructan increased. Dietary levan-type fructan supplementation increased fecal Lactobacillus counts linearly (P<0.05). In Exp. 2, 20 individually housed barrows (26.2±0.6 kg) were used to evaluate immune responses after an Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. Pigs were fed corn-soybean meal-based diets supplemented with 0% or 0.10% levan-type fructan for 42 d. At d 42, 5 pigs from each treatment were injected with E. coli LPS (0.01% of BW) and the other 5 pigs with sterile saline solution, resulting in a 2×2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Blood was taken 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 h after challenge. Challenge with LPS decreased blood lymphocyte percentage and had an interactive effect with levan-type fructan inclusion at 4, 6, and 8 h (P<0.01). Levan-type fructan supplementation increased (P<0.05) white blood cells at 6 and 8 h, and increased (P<0.05) lymphocyte percentage at 8 h after the challenge. Lipopolysaccharide injection increased (P<0.05) rectal temperature at 2 and 4 h, and had an interactive effect (P<0.05) with levan-type fructan supplementation at 4 h after the challenge. At 2, 4, 6, and 8 h, serum cortisol, tumor necrosis factor-α, and IL-6 concentration increased (P<0.05) by LPS challenge, and there was an interactive effect between LPS challenge and the inclusion of levan-type fructan (P<0.05). Dietary levan-type fructan supplementation decreased serum cortisol concentration at 8 h, tumor necrosis factor-α concentration at 4, 6, and 8 h, and IL-6 concentration at 6 and 8 h after the challenge (P<0.05). In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 0.10% levan-type fructan can improve growth performance, digestibility, and fecal Lactobacillus counts, and has a beneficial effect on the immune response during an inflammatory challenge in growing pigs.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone administration to dairy cows without a corpus luteum 4 weeks after calving increases reproductive performance

This field study investigated whether the administration of a single dose of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) to dairy cows without a corpus luteum (CL) 4 weeks after calving can improve reproductive performance. Holstein dairy cows underwent ultrasonography to assess the presence of ovarian structures at 29.2 ± 5.2 days post-partum, and cows were divided into two main groups based on the presence (CL group, n = 230) or absence (non-CL group, n = 460) of a CL. The non-CL group was further randomly divided into two subgroups based on the administration of GnRH (non-CL GnRH group, n = 230) or no GnRH (non-CL control group, n = 230). Subsets of cows from non-CL control (n = 166) and non-CL GnRH (n = 175) groups received a second ultrasonography at 44.5 ± 5.4 days post-partum to assess CL formation. The percentage of cows with CL at the second ultrasonography was greater in the non-CL GnRH group (70.9%) than in the non-CL control group (53.0%, p = 0.0006). The hazard of the first post-partum insemination by 150 days in milk (DIM) was higher in the CL group than in the non-CL control group (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.36, p = 0.001). The probability of a pregnancy to the first insemination was higher in non-CL GnRH (odds ratio [OR]: 1.50, p = 0.04) and CL groups (OR: 1.55, p = 0.03) compared to the non-CL control group. Furthermore, the hazard of pregnancy by 210 DIM was higher in non-CL GnRH (HR: 1.30, p = 0.01) and CL (HR: 1.51, p = 0.0001) groups than in the non-CL control group. In conclusion, administration of GnRH to dairy cows without a CL 4 weeks after calving was associated with an increase in ovulation and improved reproductive performance.

Effects of lactulose supplementation on performance, blood profiles, excreta microbial shedding of Lactobacillus and Escherichia coli, relative organ weight and excreta noxious gas contents in broilers

This study was to evaluate the effects of lactulose supplementation on performance, blood profiles, excreta microbial shedding of Lactobacillus and Escherichia coli, relative organ weight and excreta noxious gas contents in broilers. A total of 720 ROSS 308 broilers with a body weight of 46 ± 0.1 g (1 day of age) were used in a 28-d experiment. Broilers were randomly allotted to 4 experiment diets with 12 replicate pens and 15 birds per pen. Dietary treatments were as follows: NC, negative control (without antibiotic); PC, NC + 0.1% tiamulin; L1, NC + 0.1% lactulose; and L2, NC + 0.2% lactulose. Broilers were fed with phase 1 (1-8 day), phase 2 (9-18 day) and phase 3 (19-28 day) diets in the form of mash. During day 1-8, broilers fed the PC and L2 diets had higher (p < 0.05) body weight gain than those fed the NC diet. During day 19-28, broilers fed the L1 and L2 diets had lower (p < 0.05) feed intake than those fed the NC diet. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) was decreased (p < 0.05) in L1 treatment compared with NC treatment. Overall, the FCR was improved (p < 0.05) in all supplementation treatments compared with NC treatment. The apparently metabolizable nitrogen in L1 treatment was higher (p < 0.05) than that in NC treatment at day 28. The excreta Lactobacillus was increased and E. coli was decreased in PC and L2 treatments compared with NC treatment at day 28 (p < 0.05). The excreta NH3, H2S and acetic acid contents were decreased (p < 0.05) in L1 and L2 treatments compared with NC treatment. The relative weight of abdominal fat of broilers fed the PC diet was lowest (p < 0.05) compared with other treatments. In conclusion, this study indicated that dietary supplementation of 0.1% or 0.2% lactulose could improve growth performance, decrease excreta E. coli and excreta NH3 and H2S contents.

Determining of the Effect of Lysine:calorie Ratio on Growth Performance and Blood Urea Nitrogen of Growing Barrows and Gilts in Hot Season and Cool Season in a Commercial Environment

Two experiments were conducted to determine an optimum Lys:calorie ratio (g of total dietary Lys/Mcal of DE) for growing barrows and gilts in cool and hot seasons in a commercial environment. In Exp. 1, 96 barrows and 96 gilts were randomly allocated in 1 of 4 dietary treatments (2.7, 3.0, 3.3, 3.6 g of Lys/Mcal of DE). Each treatment had 12 replicate pens with 4 pigs per pen. The experiment lasted for 34 d in the cool season (March 12th to April 15th). Diets were based on corn-wheat-soybean meal. Lys:calorie ratio were attained by adjusting the amount of corn and soybean and supplementation of crystalline Lys. Total Lys intake and available Lys intake were increased (p<.05) as dietary Lys:calorie ratio increased. The BUN concentration on d 34 for barrows, and BUN change for barrows and gilts linearly increased (p<0.05) in response to increasing dietary Lys:calorie ratio. For gilts, back fat was decreased and then increased (Quadratically, p<0.05) as increasing dietary lys:calorie ratio. Exp. 2 had a similar design as Exp. 1 with the exception that Exp. 2 was conducted in hot season (June 30th to September 11th) for 42 d. Diet of Exp. 2 was the same as Exp. 1. Total Lys intake and available Lys intake increased (p<0.05) as dietary Lys:calorie increased. On d 42, the BUN concentration increased (p<0.05) in response to the increasing dietary Lys:calorie ratio. In conclusion, dietary Lys:calorie ratio of 2.7 g of Lys/Mcal of DE could satisfy the requirement of 25 to 50 kg growing pigs. Increasing dietary Lys:calorie ratio could increase BUN concentration in growing pigs.

Gold nanorods for target selective SPECT/CT imaging and photothermal therapy in vivo

The development of theranostic agents with high detection sensitivity and antitumor efficacy at low concentration is a challenging task for target selective imaging and therapy of cancers. In this study, folate-conjugated and radioactive-iodine-labeled gold nanorods (GNRs) were designed and synthesized for target selective SPECT/CT imaging and subsequent thermal ablation of folate-receptor-overexpressing cancers. Both (ortho-pyridyl) disulfide-poly(ethylene glycol)-folate and a short peptide, H(2)N-Tyr-Asn-Asn-Leu-Ala-Cys-OH, were conjugated on the surface of the GNRs through thiol chemistry. The tyrosine in the peptide sequence was introduced for radioactive-iodine labeling through an iodine-tyrosine interaction. The labeling efficiency of radioactive iodine was more than 99%. Radiochemical stability tests on iodine-125-labeled GNRs in human serum showed that 91% of the iodine-125 remained intact on the GNRs after incubation for 24 h. In vitro and in vivo results in this study confirmed the potential utility of folate-conjugated and iodine-125-labeled GNRs as smart theranostic agents. This type of platform may also be useful for the targeted SPECT/CT imaging and photothermal therapy of inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis and arthritis, in which folate-receptor-overexpressing macrophages play pivotal roles.

Effects of lactation and pregnancy on gene expression of endometrium of Holstein cows at day 17 of the estrous cycle or pregnancy

Objectives were to determine effects of lactation and pregnancy on endometrial gene expression on d 17 of the estrous cycle and pregnancy. Heifers (n = 33) were assigned randomly after parturition to lactating (L, n = 17) or nonlactating (NL, n = 16) groups. Cows were subjected to an ovulation synchronization program for a timed artificial insemination (TAI); 10 cows in L and 12 in NL were inseminated. Slaughter occurred 17 d after the day equivalent to TAI, and intercaruncular endometrial tissues were collected. Gene expression was determined by DNA microarray analysis for pregnant (L, n = 8; NL, n = 6) and noninseminated cyclic (L, n = 7; NL, n = 4) cows. Differentially expressed genes were selected with a P-value <0.01 and absolute expression >40. In addition, a fold effect >1.5 was used as a criterion for genes affected by pregnancy. In total, 210 genes were differentially regulated by lactation (136 downregulated and 74 upregulated), and 702 genes were differentially regulated by pregnancy (407 downregulated and 295 upregulated). The interaction effect of pregnancy and lactation affected 61 genes. Genes up- and downregulated in pregnant cows were associated with several gene ontology terms, such as defense response and interferon regulatory factor, cell adhesion, and extracellular matrix. The gene ontology analyses of up- and downregulated genes of lactating cows revealed terms related to immunoglobulin-like fold, immune response, COMM domain, and non-membrane-bounded organelle. Several genes upregulated by lactation, such as IGHG1, IGLL1, IGK, and TRD, were related to immune function, particularly for B cells and γδ T cells. Developmental genes related to limb and neural development and glucose homeostasis (e.g., DKK1, RELN, PDK4) were downregulated by lactation, whereas an interaction was also detected for RELN. The stated genes associated with immune function and developmental genes expressed in the endometrium affected by lactational state are possible candidate genes for interventions to improve fertility of lactating dairy cows.

Effects of lactation and pregnancy on metabolic and hormonal responses and expression of selected conceptus and endometrial genes of Holstein dairy cattle

Objectives were to characterize postpartum metabolic and hormonal differences between nonlactating and lactating dairy cows, evaluate lactation and pregnancy effects on endometrium and conceptus expression of selected genes, and characterize associations between conceptus and endometrial expression of genes in early pregnancy (d 17). Pregnant heifers were assigned randomly after calving to a lactating group (L, n=17) and a nonlactating group (NL, n=16). The L cows were fed a total mixed ration [1.65 Mcal of net energy for lactation (NE(L))/kg, 16.5% crude protein (CP)] ad libitum, and the NL cows were fed a maintenance ration (1.45 Mcal of NE(L)/kg, 12.2% CP) once per day. All cows were presynchronized and enrolled in a timed artificial insemination (TAI) protocol; 10 cows in the L and 12 in the NL received TAI. On d 17 after GnRH and TAI, cows were slaughtered and endometrial and conceptus tissues collected. The Affymetrix Bovine Genome DNA Microarray (Affymetrix Inc., Santa Clara, CA) was used to assess conceptus and endometrial gene expression. The L cows had higher body temperature than the NL cows (38.4 vs. 38.2°C), and the NL cows cycled earlier than the L cows (26.3 vs. 34.7 d in milk). Cows in the L group had greater plasma concentrations of β-hydroxybutyrate (4.90 vs. 2.97 mg/dL) and blood urea N (11.6 vs. 6.5mg/dL) and lower concentrations of glucose (74.0 vs. 79.9 mg/dL) compared with NL cows. Insulin-like growth factor-1 was lower for L compared with NL (140.5 vs. 198.2 ng/mL) and was greater for cows subsequently classified pregnant compared with cyclic (191.0 vs. 147.6 ng/mL). The concentration of progesterone from GnRH or TAI (d 0) until d 17 was lower for L cows than for NL cows. Gene expression analyses indicated that all conceptuses (n=13) expressed pregnancy-associated glycoprotein (PAG) genes PAG2, PAG8, PAG11, and PAG12. The same PAG family genes were observed in the endometrium of some pregnant cows. Simple and standard partial correlation analyses detected associations of conceptus PAG11 with prostaglandin regulatory genes. In conclusion, lactation altered metabolic status, delayed initiation of cyclicity, and decreased concentrations of progesterone in pregnant cows. Early expression of PAG genes in the conceptus may contribute to successful development of early pregnancy and possibly alter mechanisms related with embryo survival such as prostaglandin synthesis.

Over-expression of miR-145 enhances the effectiveness of HSVtk gene therapy for malignant glioma

This study attempts to combine two findings toward developing a rational strategy for improved therapy for glioma. One of the findings, made in this pre-clinical study, is that an hTERT-targeting ribozyme-controlled HSVtk gene (hTERT.Rz.HSVtk) exerts anti-tumor effects. The second observation is that the over-expression of a small noncoding RNA, miR-145, causes down-regulation of metastasis-related genes, such as PLAUR, SPOCK3, ADAM22, SLC7A5 and FASCN1. While blocking in vivo tumor growth only slightly, over-expression of miR-145 significantly inhibits both the migration and invasion of U87MG/U373MG glioma cells. We hypothesized that a simultaneous adenoviral-mediated over-expression of miR-145 might enhance the anti-tumor effects of hTERT.Rz.HSVtk and that a combination therapy with miR-145 and the HSVtk gene would be an effective approach for treating glioma. We tested this by developing adenoviral vectors that over-express miR-145 under the CMV promoter and employing them in combination with hTERT.Rz.HSVtk expression, both in vitro and in vivo in animal studies. We found that the adenovirus Ad5CMV.Rz.HSVtk.miR145 harboring an HSVtk expression cassette plus miR-145 produced prolonged survival benefits compared to administration of Ad5CMV.Rz.HSVtk or Ad5CMV.miR-145 alone. This study demonstrates that combination therapy using the hTERT.Rz.HSVtk gene together with miR-145 over-expression produces enhanced anti-tumor effects compared to that resulting from hTERT.Rz.HSVtk gene therapy alone.

Effects of dietary supplementation of fermented garlic powder on growth performance, apparent total tract digestibility, blood characteristics and faecal microbial concentration in weanling pigs

A total of 144 weanling pigs (5.5 ± 0.42 kg) were used in a 5-week trial to evaluate the effect of fermented garlic powder (FGP) supplementation in weaning pigs. Pigs were randomly allocated to the following four dietary treatments: (i) control (CON; basal diet), (ii) FGP0.5 (CON + 0.5 g/kg FGP), (iii) FGP1 (CON + 1 g/kg FGP), (iv) FGP2 (CON + 2 g/kg FGP). There were six replications with six pigs (three barrows and three gilts) per pen. Pigs fed FGP0.5 treatments increased (p < 0.05) average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) during 3-5 and 0-5 week. No difference was observed on gain/ feed (G/F) ratio in this study. The inclusion of FGP1 and FGP2 treatments increased DM (p < 0.05) digestibility compared with the CON treatment throughout the experiment. The apparent total tract digestibility of N was (p < 0.05) increased by the dietary FGP throughout the experiment. Pigs fed FGP1 and FGP2 treatments increased the lymphocyte concentration (p < 0.05) and RBC concentration compared with the CON group. Dietary FGP decreased the blood total cholesterol (p < 0.05) in comparison with the CON group. The triglyceride (p < 0.05) concentration was decreased in FGP1 and FGP2 treatments compared with those in the CON treatment at the end of the experiment. Pigs fed FGP1 and FGP2 treatments had a lower number of Escherichia coli in faeces on 21 (p < 0.05) and 35 days (p = 0.05) than those in the CON treatment. In conclusion, dietary fermented garlic powder (0.5 g/kg) can improve ADG and ADFI in weanling pigs, but not at higher levels (1 and 2 g/kg). Dietary fermented garlic powder can also increase the nutrient digestibility, lymphocytes and RBC concentrations, but decrease the faecal E. coli concentration in weaning pigs.

FX: an RNA-Seq analysis tool on the cloud

FX is an RNA-Seq analysis tool, which runs in parallel on cloud computing infrastructure, for the estimation of gene expression levels and genomic variant calling. In the mapping of short RNA-Seq reads, FX uses a transcriptome-based reference primarily, generated from ~160 000 mRNA sequences from RefSeq, UCSC and Ensembl databases. This approach reduces the misalignment of reads originating from splicing junctions. Unmapped reads not aligned on known transcripts are then mapped on the human genome reference. FX allows analysis of RNA-Seq data on cloud computing infrastructures, supporting access through a user-friendly web interface.

AVAILABILITY

FX is freely available on the web at (http://fx.gmi.ac.kr), and can be installed on local Hadoop clusters. Guidance for the installation and operation of FX can be found under the 'Documentation' menu on the website.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Production of human papillomavirus type 33 L1 major capsid protein and virus-like particles from Bacillus subtilis to develop a prophylactic vaccine against cervical cancer

We developed a bacterial expression system to produce human papillomavirus (HPV) type 33 L1 major capsid protein and virus-like particles from a recombinant Bacillus subtilis strain. For the first time, we have isolated self-assembled virus-like particles (VLPs) of HPV type 33 from B. subtilis, a strain generally recognized as safe (GRAS). The gene encoding the major capsid protein L1 of HPV type 33 was amplified from viral DNA isolated from a Korean patient and expressed in B. subtilis; a xylose-induction system was used to control gene activity. HPV33 L1 protein was partially purified by 40% (w/v) sucrose cushion centrifugation and strong cation exchange column chromatography. Eluted samples exhibited immunosignaling in fractions of 0.5-1.0 M NaCl. The HPV33 L1 protein was shown to be approximately 56 kDa in size by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting; recovery and purity were quantified by indirect immuno-ELISA assay. The final yield and purity were approximately 20.4% and 10.3%, respectively. Transmission electron microscopic analysis of fractions immunoactive by ELISA revealed that the L1 protein formed self-assembled VLPs with a diameter of approximately 20-40 nm. Humoral and cellular immune responses provoked by the B. subtilis/HPV33 L1 strain were approximately 100- and 3-fold higher than those of the empty B. subtilis strain as a negative control, respectively. Development of a VLP production and delivery system using B. subtilis will be helpful, in that the vaccine may be convenient production as an antigen delivery system. VLPs thus produced will be safer for human use than those purified from Gram-negative strains such as Escherichia coli. Also, use of B. subtilis as a host may aid in the development of either live or whole cell vaccines administered by antigen delivery system.

Alterations in cell proliferation related gene expressions in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer remains the fourth most prevalent cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the world. The predominant form of gastric cancer is adenocarcinoma, which originates from glandular epithelium of the gastric mucosa. The major risk factors for gastric cancer include diet, individual genetic variation, and, most importantly, infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Certain strains of H. pylori assisted by some of its virulence factors seem to play a critical role in gastric cancer development. Several of these H. pylori virulence factors, which influence cellular proliferation signaling, have been identified. In addition, changes in the expression of several cell proliferation regulating genes accompany or cause the progression of gastric cancer. These changes include modifications of cell cycle regulators, oncogene activation, tumor suppressor inactivation, and miRNA profile alterations. Many of these changes result from H. pylori infection, although their impact on the cellular proliferation system underlying gastric cancer development has not yet been fully elucidated. We review certain features of gastric cancer, the role of H. pylori infection in its etiology and pathogenesis, and gene expression changes during gastric carcinogenesis.

The evaluation of soybean meals from 3 major soybean-producing countries on productive performance and feeding value of pig diets

This study was conducted to evaluate 1) the effects of soybean meal (SBM) from 3 major SBM-producing countries (United States, Brazil, and India) on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and meat quality of growing-finishing pigs and 2) the feeding value of the evaluated SBM as a feedstuff for growing-finishing pigs. Soybean meal representative of each country was purchased on the open market. A total of 144 barrows with the average BW of 23.77 (SD = 1.52 kg) were allotted to 3 dietary treatments with 12 replicate pens per treatment and 4 pigs per pen. The US SBM used in this trial had greater CP and total AA contents, greater KOH protein solubility, and less crude fiber than SBM from either Brazil or India. Diets were formulated to be isolysinic and isocaloric. Pigs fed diets containing US SBM were heavier (P < 0.05) than pigs fed diets containing Brazilian or Indian SBM at 12 and 18 wk. Pigs fed diets containing US SBM had greater (P < 0.05) ADG and G:F throughout the overall period when compared with pigs fed SBM produced in Brazil or India. The DM and N digestibility were greater for US SBM (P < 0.05) than Brazilian and India SBM at 6, 12, and 18 wk. Pigs were slaughtered at the end of 18 wk, and no differences were observed on meat quality (backfat thickness, LM area, pH, meat color, water holding capacity, and drip loss) among the treatments, except lean percentages were less and backfat thickness was greater in pigs fed Brazilian and Indian SBM than US SBM. The cost per kilogram of BW gain of the experimental diet containing US SBM was less than that of diets containing Brazilian or Indian SBM, but it would depend on the relative prices of each SBM. Based on the results of the current experiment, the productivity and feeding value of US SBM seems to be greater than the SBM produced in Brazil and India.

[Effects of chromosomal polyploidy on survival of colon cancer cells]

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Tetraploid cells are frequently observed in the inflamed mucosal epithelial cells of the patients with Barrett's esophagus or chronic ulcerative colitis. Polyploidy often occurs during cell fusion, abortive cell cycle, and endoreplication. Most tetraploid cells are engaged to apoptotic pathway, but some remaining stable tetraploid cells consequently cause aneuploidization and chromosomal instability. We investigated whether tetraploid cells could acquire survival advantage and hold a dominant position for natural selection.

METHODS

We established tetraploid cell line (HCT116GH) from parental diploid colorectal cancer cell line (HCT116) via PEG-mediated cell fusion and compared its cell viability, cell cycle response and apoptotic fractions responded to H₂O₂) with diploid HCT116 and p53 suppressed HCT116/H6 cell lines.

RESULTS

Using MTT assay, plating efficiency and clonogenicity, we evaluated the survival of each cell line. Tetraploid cell line HCT116GH demonstrated an 83 fold greater resistance to 100 microM H₂O₂ than the parental diploid HCT116, and 6 fold greater than even the p53 negative diploid HCT116/E6. Cellular sensitivity, G2/M arrests, and apoptotic proportion were observed less in response to H₂O₂ in HCT116GH compared with HCT116 and HCT116/E6. HCT116GH expressed lower level of p53 and p21 than diploid HCT116.

CONCLUSIONS

Stable tetraploid cell lines showed enhanced viability in comparison to parental diploid cell lines. The enhanced viability observed in tetraploidization surpassed that from downregulation of p53. Frequent appearance of tetraploid cells in stressful condition can be caused by natural selection owing to their enhanced viability and may consequently contribute to cancer cell transformation.