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Divari S, Cuccato M, Fanelli A, Cannizzo FT. Development of a droplet digital PCR assay to detect illicit glucocorticoid administration in bovine. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0271613. [PMID: 35839236 PMCID: PMC9286227 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Glucocorticoids are often used illegally in food-producing animals for the growth promotion of livestock animals. In accordance to official chemical methods for glucocorticoid detection, an animal is declared as non-compliant when a residue is identified in the sample. Neverthless, growth promoting molecules can often escape identification due to their rapid elimination or due to the use of non-detectable new generation drugs. Therefore, an indirect screening method able to detect the biological effect of long-term administration of low doses of dexamethasone and prednisolone on livestock has been developed to support official methods. As already described, FKBP5 (FKBP prolyl isomerase 5) expression in bovine thymus is regulated by glucocorticoids, and this specific regulation can be exploited in an indirect screening assay. In the present study, male veal calves and young bulls were considered in three different trials in which estradiol, dexamethasone, and prednisolone were administered alone or in combination with Revalor-200 subcutaneous pellets. Thoracic thymus was sampled from all animals and molecular analysis was performed. A duplex droplet digital PCR assay with EvaGreen® was employed to detect the target gene expression using absolute quantification. The developed droplet digital PCR assay was precise, showing intra- and inter-assay mean coefficient of variation values of about 6.16% and 3.17%, respectively. It was also highly specific (100%) with Youden’s index of 76.92% and 53.57% applied to veal calves and young bulls, respectively. The lowest detection limit in which the target gene expression level was kept constant, was 0.05 ng/μl of cDNA with 1 copies/μL and 0.5 copies/μL for target and reference gene, respectively. This study establishes the basis for using a digital PCR-based assay as an efficient test to identify animals illegally treated with glucocorticoids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Divari
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, Grugliasco (TO), Italy
- * E-mail:
| | - Matteo Cuccato
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, Grugliasco (TO), Italy
| | - Antonella Fanelli
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, Grugliasco (TO), Italy
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Stella R, Bovo D, Mastrorilli E, Pezzolato M, Bozzetta E, Biancotto G. Anabolic treatments in bovines: quantification of plasma protein markers of dexamethasone administration. Proteomics 2021; 21:e2000238. [PMID: 34133848 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.202000238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Revised: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to profile plasma proteome responses in bulls experimentally treated with dexamethasone at anabolic dosage. Illicit use of active substances in animal husbandry remains a matter of concern in Europe. Corticosteroids are probably one of the most widespread growth promoter family illegally used in beef cattle and veal calves. Testing for corticosteroids relies on detection of drug residues or their metabolites in biological fluids or tissues. Their indirect detection by mapping altered physiological parameters may overcome limits linked to route of administration, dosage, biotransformation and elimination kinetics that can lower residual drug concentration, hampering official controls. A set of 11 proteins proposed in literature as potential markers of anabolic treatments with dexamethasone, was quantified in bovine plasma by targeted proteomics based on liquid chromatography-high resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Among investigated proteins, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG) and paraoxonase-1 (PON1) were found to be biomarkers of treatment. To investigate further such biomarkers, an additional group of veal calves was experimentally treated with dexamethasone at anabolic. These animals also demonstrated a significant alteration in SHBG, HRG and PON1 concentration, suggesting that quantification of plasma markers have the potential to detect animals illegally exposed to dexamethasone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Stella
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Department of Chemistry, Legnaro (PD), Italy
| | - Davide Bovo
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Department of Chemistry, Legnaro (PD), Italy
| | - Eleonora Mastrorilli
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Microbial Ecology Unit, Legnaro (PD), Italy.,Present address: European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Structural and Computational Biology Unit, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Marzia Pezzolato
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, CIBA, Torino, Italy
| | - Elena Bozzetta
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, CIBA, Torino, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Biancotto
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Department of Chemistry, Legnaro (PD), Italy
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Sebastianelli M, Forte C, Galarini R, Gobbi M, Pistidda E, Moncada C, Cannizzo FT, Pezzolato M, Bozzetta E, Cenci-Goga BT, Manuali E. LC-MS/MS analyses of bile and histological analyses of thymus as diagnostic tools to detect low dose dexamethasone illicit treatment in beef cattle at slaughterhouse. Steroids 2020; 160:108671. [PMID: 32464136 DOI: 10.1016/j.steroids.2020.108671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2019] [Revised: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Dexamethasone (DXM) is a synthetic adrenal corticosteroid with anti-inflammatory properties used for therapeutic purposes in a wide range of pathologies and of the most common corticosteroids used for anabolic purposes in beef cattle. It is proven that DXM induces histological changes, traceable as increasing fatty infiltration of the thymus associated with a concurrent decrease of the cortex-medulla ratio, so the histological examination of the thymus gland has been established as an indirect morphological biomarker. The aim of the present study is to compare thymus histology and DXM concentrations in biological fluids collected at slaughterhouse after 1 month of DXM treatment. Our findings demonstrate that a low dosage of DXM administered to 12 months-old-Chianina beef cattle induces severe thymic atrophy with concurrent reduction of the cortex/medulla ratio, demonstrable even when DXM residues are not found in serum and urine samples. It is worth to note that, at the slaughterhouse, DXM residues are detectable in bile samples, indicating the ability of this biological fluid to bio-concentrate the administered drug if compared to serum and urine. Therefore, bile could be candidates as new liquid matrix for the screening programs planned to contrast the illegal use of anabolic substances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Sebastianelli
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche "Togo Rosati", 06126 - Perugia, Italy
| | - Claudio Forte
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche "Togo Rosati", 06126 - Perugia, Italy.
| | - Roberta Galarini
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche "Togo Rosati", 06126 - Perugia, Italy.
| | - Marco Gobbi
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche "Togo Rosati", 06126 - Perugia, Italy.
| | - Elisabetta Pistidda
- Igiene degli allevamenti e delle Produzioni Zootecniche, Azienda Sanitaria Locale Umbria 1, 06121 - Perugia, Italy.
| | - Claudia Moncada
- Igiene degli allevamenti e delle Produzioni Zootecniche, Azienda Sanitaria Locale Umbria 1, 06121 - Perugia, Italy.
| | | | - Marzia Pezzolato
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, 10154 - Torino, Italy.
| | - Elena Bozzetta
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, 10154 - Torino, Italy.
| | | | - Elisabetta Manuali
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche "Togo Rosati", 06126 - Perugia, Italy.
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Biancotto G, Bovo D, Mastrorilli E, Manuali E, Angeletti R, Stella R. TMT-Based Proteomics Profiling of Bovine Liver Underscores Protein Markers of Anabolic Treatments. Proteomics 2019; 19:e1800422. [PMID: 30865377 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.201800422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Revised: 02/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Illegal use of growth promoter compounds in food production exposes consumers to health risk. Surveillance of such practices is based on direct detection of drugs or related metabolites by HPLC-MS/MS. Screening strategies focusing on indirect biological responses are considered promising tools to improve surveillance. In this study, an untargeted shotgun proteomics approach based on tandem mass tags (TMTs) is carried out to identify proteins altered in bovine liver after different anabolic treatments. Three controlled pharmacological treatments with dexamethasone, a combination of dexamethasone and clenbuterol, or a combination of sexual steroids (trenbolone and estradiol) are analyzed. Untargeted TMT analysis of liver digests by high resolution MS allowed for the relative quantification of proteins. Thanks to partial least squarediscriminant analysis, a set of proteins capable to classify animals treated with dexamethasone alone (11 proteins), or in combination with clenbuterol (13 proteins) are identified. No significant difference is found upon administration of sexual steroids. After relative quantification of candidate markers by parallel reaction monitoring (PRM), two predictive models are trained to validate protein markers. Finally, an independent animal set of control bulls and bulls treated with dexamethasone is analyzed by PRM to further validate a predictive model giving an accuracy of 100%.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giancarlo Biancotto
- Department of Chemistry, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020, Legnaro PD, Italy
| | - Davide Bovo
- Department of Chemistry, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020, Legnaro PD, Italy
| | - Eleonora Mastrorilli
- Department of Food Safety, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020, Legnaro PD, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Manuali
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche "Togo Rosati", 06126, Perugia, Italy
| | - Roberto Angeletti
- Department of Chemistry, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020, Legnaro PD, Italy
| | - Roberto Stella
- Department of Chemistry, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020, Legnaro PD, Italy
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Richelmi GB, Maurella C, Pezzolato M, Botta M, Varello K, Pitardi D, Baioni E, Bellino C, D'Angelo A, Caramelli M, Bozzetta E. Thymus atrophy is an efficient marker of illicit treatment with dexamethasone in veal calves: Results from a triennial experimental study. Res Vet Sci 2017; 113:67-72. [DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2017.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2017] [Revised: 07/12/2017] [Accepted: 09/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Stella R, Barrucci F, Angeletti R, James P, Montesissa C, Biancotto G. Targeted proteomics for the indirect detection of dexamethasone treatment in bovines. Anal Bioanal Chem 2016; 408:8343-8353. [DOI: 10.1007/s00216-016-9951-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2016] [Revised: 08/01/2016] [Accepted: 09/15/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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Elgendy R, Giantin M, Montesissa C, Dacasto M. Transcriptomic analysis of skeletal muscle from beef cattle exposed to illicit schedules containing dexamethasone: identification of new candidate biomarkers and their validation using samples from a field monitoring trial. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess 2015; 32:1448-63. [DOI: 10.1080/19440049.2015.1070307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Stella R, Arrigoni G, Biancotto G, Krogh M, Vascellari M, Lega F, Pozza G, Angeletti R, Andrighetto I, James P. Confirmation of Protein Biomarkers of Corticosteroids Treatment in Veal Calves Sampled under Field Conditions. J Proteome Res 2014; 13:1794-9. [DOI: 10.1021/pr401193r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Stella
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, viale dell'Universitá, 10, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
- Department
of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Via G. Colombo 3, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Giorgio Arrigoni
- Department
of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Via G. Colombo 3, 35131 Padova, Italy
- Proteomics Center of Padova University, Via G. Orus 2, 35129 Padova, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Biancotto
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, viale dell'Universitá, 10, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - Morten Krogh
- Department
of Immunotechnology, Lund University, Medicon Village, S-223 81 Lund, Sweden
| | - Marta Vascellari
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, viale dell'Universitá, 10, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - Francesca Lega
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, viale dell'Universitá, 10, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - Giandomenico Pozza
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, viale dell'Universitá, 10, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - Roberto Angeletti
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, viale dell'Universitá, 10, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - Igino Andrighetto
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, viale dell'Universitá, 10, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - Peter James
- Department
of Immunotechnology, Lund University, Medicon Village, S-223 81 Lund, Sweden
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