Effect of dietary addition of seaweed and licorice on the immune performance of pigs

In pig production, dietary additive antibiotics are usually used for growth stimulation and disease prevention, although there is public concern about the increased incidence of resistant antibiotics and food safety. It is possible that such antibiotics might be replaced by naturally derived products such as seaweed and licorice. In this study, we evaluated the effect of dietary addition of seaweed and licorice on enhancing the immune function in swine. The animals of each group (eight animals per group) were sensitized at day 42 and 49, and the immunoglobulin production and the expression of cytokines were detected by the ELISA and real‐time PCR. As the results, saliva IgA production of the seaweed‐treated group increased around five times compared to that of control (day 56). Delayed hypersensitivity reaction and IgG production of the seaweed‐treated group increased around 1.8–2.0 times. In addition, enhanced saliva IgA production was detected at day 50 (around two times) and day 51 (around five times) by the licorice treatment, and lower expression level of tumor necrosis factor‐α messenger RNA at day 51 (around 1/25) was observed in the licorice treatment. We conclude that the replacement of antibiotics by naturally derived dietary additives might be feasible for immune system enhancement.     

Effects of preventing hyperphagia on glycolipid metabolic abnormalities in Spontaneously Diabetic Torii fatty rats

Spontaneously Diabetic Torii (SDT) fatty rats, made by introducing the fa allele of the Zucker fatty rat into the SDT rat genome, represent a new model of obese type 2 diabetes. SDT fatty ^fa/fa (SDT fatty) rats exhibit overt obesity, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia from about six weeks of age, and this is associated with hyperphagia by an induced disorder of leptin action. The present study was conducted to elucidate whether suppression of hyperphagia can improve reduce abnormalities in SDT fatty rats. SDT fatty rats were subjected to pair-feeding with SDT fatty ^{+/ +} (SDT) rats from 6 to 26 weeks of age, and the effects on metabolic parameters and diabetic complications were assessed. Body weights of the pair-fed rats were similar with those of SDT rats during the experimental period. Improvement of hyperglycemia or hypertriglyceridemia was observed from 8 to 16 or 12 weeks of age in the pair-fed rats, but hypercholesterolemia was not entirely improved during the experimental period. We also examined mRNAs expression in liver, and found that the expression associated with glyconeogenesis, such as glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), tended to decrease in the pair-fed rats, and the mRNA expression of hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) was elevated. Renal parameters, such as blood urea nitrogen and urinary albumin excretion, were improved in the pair-fed rats. The incidence or progression of diabetic complications, such as renal lesions and cataract, was reduced. In conclusion, suppression of hyperphagia in SDT fatty rats was effective in temporally improving hyperglycemia or hypertriglyceridemia, and reducing the incidence or progression of diabetic complications, but was ineffective in reducing hypercholesterolemia.     

Cell wall degradation of tropical and temperate forage grasses measured by nylon bag and in vitro digestion techniques

Four tropical and four temperate grasses were subjected to nylon bag fiber degradation study with fistulated Holstein cattle as well as in vitro digestion with broad spectrum cellulase, and the degradability of cell wall carbohydrate and lignin for the respective forage grasses were determined. The degradability of neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber for the same plant materials appeared to be similar, but that of acid detergent lignin was constantly lower. As for the plant materials used in the present study, Italian ryegrass, orchardgrass and guineagrass showed high degradability of fibers in nylon bag incubation, while setaria, cogongrass and wheat showed smaller degradability. In both nylon bag incubation and in vitro digestion experiments, the forage samples showing relatively lower degradability exhibited notably lower disappearance of xylose than that of glucose or arabinose. It was also observed that dry matter degradability correlated negatively with the initial content of esterified and/or etherified p‐coumaric acid. These results were assumed to be caused by the difference in resistance towards rumen microbial degradation due to the concentration of lignin‐carbohydrate complex.     

Serum iron concentration is candidate inflammatory marker for respiratory diseases in beef cows

We hypothesized that the serum iron (Fe) concentration in cows with respiratory diseases is a satisfactory substitute for major inflammatory markers such as haptoglobin (HPT) and serum amyloid A (SAA). Twenty Japanese Black cows aged 279.6 ± 120.0 days were enrolled, and divided into respiratory diseases and control groups based on the presence of clinical findings of respiratory diseases. As a result, area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for plasma HPT, SAA and serum Fe concentrations for respiratory disease-associated systemic inflammation were excellent, at 1.00, 0.96 and 0.97, respectively. Therefore we confirmed that the serum Fe concentration is a satisfactory substitute for HPT and SAA in beef cows with respiratory diseases.     

冻结条件下冻藏温度对鲢鱼肉肌原纤维蛋白冷冻变性的影响

本研究探讨了不同冻结终温、冻结速率以及冻结贮藏温度下鲢鱼肉肌原纤维蛋白ATPase活性的变化。结果表明，冻结终温和冻结速率肌球蛋白变性的影响较小，即使在慢速冻结（从0℃经过72h冻结到－40℃）下，样品肌原纤维蛋白的Ca^2＋－、Mg^2＋－、EDTA－ATPase活性的变化都很小。在贮藏过程中，贮藏温度越低肌原纤维蛋白越稳定，而慢冻和快冻对于其后冻藏过程中肌原纤维蛋白变性的差异也不显著。与冻结速率和浆结终温相比，冻结贮藏温度的影响明显。     

Structural determination of the oligosaccharides in the milk of a giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridatyla)

There appears to be strong evidence supporting four major clades of placental mammals: (i) Afrotheria; (ii) Xenarthea; (iii) Euarchontoglires; and (iv) Laurasiathera. This is the first study in which the carbohydrates have been analyzed in the milks of Xenarthea. Our aim was to clarify whether the saccharides of giant anteater milk resemble those of other eutherian species, especially of the Asian elephant, which is one of the Afrotherea. We found that lactose is a dominant saccharide in this milk, as it is in that of most eutherians, and that the milk contains smaller amounts of oligosaccharides, whose structures were determined as Gal(α1‐3)Gal(β1‐4)Glc (isoglobotriose), Neu5Ac(α2‐6)Gal(β1‐4)Glc (6'‐N‐acetylneuraminyllactose), Neu5Gc(α2‐6)Gal(β1‐4)Glc (6'‐N‐glycolylneuraminyllactose), Neu5Ac(α2‐6)Gal(β1‐4)GlcNAc(β1‐3)Gal(β1‐4)Glc (LST c) and Neu5Gc(α2‐6)Gal(β1‐4)GlcNAc(β1‐3)Gal(β1‐4)Glc. This pattern of milk carbohydrates is rather close to that of the milks of other eutherian species. It is notable that the milk contained oligosaccharides with Neu5Gc residues but no oligosaccharides containing α(2‐3) linked Neu5Ac residues such as Neu5Ac(α2‐3)Gal(β1‐4)Glc.     

Knockout mouse production assisted by Blm knockdown

Production of knockout mice using targeted embryonic stem cells (ESCs) is a powerful approach for investigating the function of specific genes in vivo. Although the protocol for gene targeting via homologous recombination (HR) in ESCs is already well established, the targeting efficiency varies at different target loci and is sometimes too low. It is known that knockdown of the Bloom syndrome gene, BLM, enhances HR-mediated gene targeting efficiencies in various cell lines. However, it has not yet been investigated whether this approach in ESCs is applicable for successful knockout mouse production. Therefore, we attempted to answer this question. Consistent with previous reports, Blm knockdown enhanced gene targeting efficiencies for three gene loci that we examined by 2.3–4.1-fold. Furthermore, the targeted ESC clones generated good chimeras and were successful in germline transmission. These data suggest that Blm knockdown provides a general benefit for efficient ESC-based and HR-mediated knockout mouse production.     

Virulence of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus is associated with the larger RNA segment (RNA segment A)

Abstract. Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) contains two segments of double- stranded RNA (the larger RNA segment, A; and a smaller RNA segment, B). The IPNV- Buhl isolate belongs to the VR299 serotype, and eel virus European (EVE) is serologically the same as the Ab serotype. IPNV-Buhl is virulent to rainbow trout fry, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), whereas EVE is avirulent. To determine the genetic basis for the difference of the virulence, intertypic reassortants were made between IPNV-Buhl and EVE. The reassortants with the genotypes of P/E (segment A of IPNV-Buhl and segment B of EVE) and E/P (segment A of EVE and segment B of IPNV-Buhl) were studied for their pathogenicity to rainbow trout fry. The P/E reassortant was highly virulent, similar to the IPNV-Buhl parent (P/P), while the E/P reassortant was avirulent, as was the EVE parent (E/E). A high level of viral replication was observed in almost all organs of the fry infected with the P/E reassortant and the IPNV-Buhl parent. In contrast, viral replication was restricted to the epidermal cells of the fry infected with the E/P reassortant and the EVE parent. The results demonstrate that the larger RNA segment (RNA segment A) of IPNV is related to cell tropism in vivo and is responsible for virulence in rainbow trout fry.     

Changes in the bovine whey proteome during the early lactation period

To investigate time‐dependent change in the bovine whey proteome during the early lactation period, a two‐dimensional gel‐based approach was used in this study. Milk samples were collected from five healthy Friesian‐Holstein dairy cows up to 10 days postpartum. Spot patterns of whey proteins varied drastically from immediately after parturition to 48 h, but no significant changes occurred thereafter. Protein identification by mass spectrometry revealed that the ratios of caseins and immunoglobulins drastically decreased during 48 h postpartum, while those of lower molecular mass proteins such as α‐lactalbumin and β‐lactoglobulin increased. More than 100 spots were detected, being much more abundant in colostral whey than in mature milk whey. Of a total of 25 proteins identified, four, viz. zinc‐α‐2‐glycoprotein, vitamin D‐binding protein, immunoglobulin G2 chain C and β2‐microglobulin, were detectable only in colostrum. Our results indicate that most of the minor whey proteins in colostrum relate to the passive immunity of newborn calves, but some of them play significant roles in nutritional supplementation of the neonate. The characteristics of whey proteins in transition imply that enhancement of innate immunity becomes more important than protection of the neonate against pathogens via passive immunity after 48 h postpartum.