Effect of nutrient restriction on calpain and calpastatin content of skeletal muscle from cows and fetuses

Calpains are crucial for the degradation of myofibrillar proteins in muscle. Calpastatin is a specific inhibitor of calpains. The objective of this study was to elucidate the effect of nutrient restriction on the activity of calpains and calpastatin in the skeletal muscle of both cows and fetuses. Beginning 30 d after conception, 20 cows were fed either a control diet consisting of native grass hay fortified with vitamins and minerals at recommendations for a mature cow to gain 0.72 kg/d or half the vitamins and minerals and millet straw at 68.1% of NEm requirements. Cows were slaughtered on d 125 of gestation, and the LM was sampled at the 12th rib for calpain and calpastatin measurement. When comparing the muscle samples from nutrient-restricted and control cows, no difference in the activity of calpain I and II was observed; however, there was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in calpastatin activity. Muscle samples from control cows had greater calpastatin content than those of nutrient-restricted cows (P < 0.05); in contrast, the calpastatin content of fetal muscle was greater in fetuses gestated by nutrient-restricted cows than those of control cows (P < 0.05). Further, there were three calpastatin isoforms of 125, 110, and 70 kD detected in fetal muscle, whereas only the110-kD isoform was detected for cow muscle. These results indicate that the activity of the calpain system in skeletal muscle is mainly controlled through the expression of calpastatin. Alternating the calpastatin content in muscle and thereby modulating calpain activity may provide a mechanism for the maintenance of fetal muscle growth during nutrient restriction, whereas skeletal muscle loss in cows is upregulated.