Effects of food enriched with egg yolk hydrolysate (bone peptide) on bone metabolism in orchidectomized dogs

We examined the effects of chicken egg hydrolysate (also known as “bone peptide” or BP) on bone metabolism in 5- to 8-month-old orchidectomized dogs. The bone formation marker serum bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP) and the bone resorption marker urine deoxypyridinoline (DPD) were used as indicators to measure changes in bone metabolism. The following results were observed that Serum BAP was higher in dogs fed BP-enriched food throughout the clinical investigation. Serum BAP was statistically significantly higher in dogs fed BP-enriched food than in dogs fed non-BP-enriched food at 2 months after orchidectomy. This suggests that BP promoted bone formation immediately after orchidectomy.     

Rapid activation of Mac-1(CD11b/CD18) molecules on macrophages by a new chemotactic factor 'Gasserokine' produced by Lactobacillus gasseri JCM1131T

The chemoattractant activity of a new chemotactic factor, 'Gasserokine' produced by Lactobacillus gasseri JCM1131^T, has been proposed as a novel immunological function of probiotic lactic acid bacteria. The focus of the present study was to understand the mechanism of the chemotaxis induced by Gasserokine, using activation of an adhesion molecule, Mac-1 (CD11b/CD18) on macrophages. The macrophage chemotaxis to Gasserokine was abolished by preincubation of macrophages with the anti-Mac-1 mAb. Gasserokine induced rapid serine phosphorylation of CD18 molecules within 1 min of stimulation, but the effect was short-lived. Substantial tyrosine phosphorylation was observed in CD18-associated protein of macrophages stimulated by Gasserokine. The tyrosine phosphorylation was confirmed in macrophages stimulated with Gasserokine and also serine/threonine phosphorylation was detected on CD18 molecules by laser microscopy using a double immunostaining method. These results suggest that selective activation of intracellular signaling cascades, such as the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, are related to the macrophage chemotaxis induced by Gasserokine.     

Effects of models with finite loci, selection, dominance, epistasis and linkage on inbreeding coefficients based on pedigree and genotypic information

Considering the effects of selection, dominance, epistasis and linkage, a stochastic computer simulation was performed to study how well inbreeding coefficients calculated from pedigree (f_ped) and genotypic frequencies (f_het) correspond to the inbreeding coefficient that is defined as the proportion of autozygous loci in the modelled genome (i.e. the level of autozygosity, f_aut). Although in random mating populations all three inbreeding coefficients show almost (with slight deviations in models with two loci) the same expectation, they represent three separate variables. First, f_aut, f_ped and f_het responded differently to selection, dominance, epistasis and linkage. Second, they did not have the same standard deviations, which means that the effects of random drift, especially in models under selection, were not affecting all three coefficients in the same way. Finally, they were not always defined in the same domain. With selection as the most important factor responsible for the observed discrepancies, the bias (discrepancy) was present in both directions, thus leading to overestimation or underestimation of the observed level of autozygosity depending on the genetic model, linkage and initial gene frequency. Variation of the autozygosity level (between replicates) was increased notably in models with additive inheritance under selection and was an additional potential source of bias. Thus, when the trait is, to a large extent, controlled by a finite number of loci and when selection is present, the bias in the estimation of the autozygosity is likely to occur and caution is necessary whenever conclusions are based on inbreeding coefficients estimated from the pedigree or decrease in heterozygosity.