Pharmacokinetics of warfarin in rabbits during short-term and long-term uraemia

Warfarin was administered intravenously twice at an interval of six months to rabbits with surgically-induced impairment of renal function and to control animals. Pharmacokinetic analysis showed that the elimination rate of warfarin was significantly decreased in the uraemic group after 2 weeks duration of uraemia and was even further decreased at the second examination 6 months later. No significant changes in the volumes of distribution were found. Renal function tests indicated stable renal function between the two examinations.     

Significance of CCN2 expression in bovine preimplantation development

In mammalian preimplantation development, the first cell lineage segregation occurs during the blastocyst stage, when the inner cell mass and trophectoderm (TE) differentiate. Species‐specific analyses are essential to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that underlie this process, since they differ between various species. We previously showed that the reciprocal regulation of CCN2 and TEAD4 is required for proper TE differentiation in bovine blastocysts; however, the function of CCN2 during early embryogenesis has remained otherwise elusive. The present study assessed the spatiotemporal expression dynamics of CCN2 in bovine embryos, and evaluated how changes to CCN2 expression (using a CCN2 knockdown (KD) blastocyst model) regulate the expression of pluripotency‐related genes such as OCT4 and NANOG. The conducted quantitative PCR analysis revealed that CCN2 mRNA was expressed in bovine oocytes (at the metaphase stage of their second meiosis) and embryos. Similarly, immunostaining detected both cytoplasmic and nuclear CCN2 at all analyzed oocyte and embryonic stages. Finally, both OCT4 and NANOG expression levels were shown to be significantly reduced in CCN2 KD blastocysts. Together, these results demonstrate that bovine CCN2 exhibits unique expression patterns during preimplantation development, and is required for the proper expression of key regulatory genes in bovine blastocysts.     

Effect of short-term fasting on hepatic steroid hormone metabolism in cows

In the present study, the effect of 4-day fasting on steroid hormone metabolism in the liver and secretion of LH was examined in cows. Six non pregnant, dry Holstein cows were used. The estrous cycle was synchronized in all cows using CIDR-Ovsynch. Cows were allocated to a control group (n=3) and a fasting group (n=3). In the fasting group, cows were fasted for four days from day -4 to day -1 (day 0=day of 2nd GnRH injection) but otherwise were fed ad libitum. The experiment was repeated in a crossover design after an interval of about one month. The peripheral progesterone (P(4)) concentration in the fasting group was significantly higher than in the control group on day -1 and 0. The peripheral estradiol-17β concentration in the fasting group was also significantly higher than in the control group on day -1 and 0. The portal vein P(4) concentration in the fasting group was significantly higher than in the control group. On day 0, there was no difference in LH secretion between groups. The mean percentages of lipid droplets in liver cells in the fasting group were significantly higher than in the control group on day 0. These results suggest that short-term fasting leads to reduced hepatic steroid hormone metabolism by accumulation of fat in the liver, which causes high peripheral steroid hormone concentrations.     

Multifaceted role of one-carbon metabolism on immunometabolic control and growth during pregnancy,lactation and the neonatal period in dairy cattle

Dairy cattle undergo dramatic metabolic, endocrine, physiologic and immune changes during the peripartal period largely due to combined increases in energy requirements for fetal growth and development, milk production, and decreased dry matter intake. The negative nutrient balance that develops results in body fat mobilization,subsequently leading to triacylglycerol(TAG) accumulation in the liver along with reductions in liver function,immune dysfunction and a state of inflammation and oxidative stress. Mobilization of muscle and gluconeogenesis are also enhanced, while intake of vitamins and minerals is decreased, contributing to metabolic and immune dysfunction and oxidative stress. Enhancing post-ruminal supply of methyl donors is one approach that may improve immunometabolism and production synergistically in peripartal cows. At the cellular level, methyl donors(e.g. methionine, choline, betaine and folic acid) interact through one-carbon metabolism to modulate metabolism,immune responses and epigenetic events. By modulating those pathways, methyl donors may help increase the export of very low-density lipoproteins to reduce liver TAG and contribute to antioxidant synthesis to alleviate oxidative stress. Thus, altering one-carbon metabolism through methyl donor supplementation is a viable option to modulate immunometabolism during the peripartal period. This review explores available data on the regulation of one-carbon metabolism pathways in dairy cows in the context of enzyme regulation, cellular sensors and signaling mechanisms that might respond to increased dietary supply of specific methyl donors. Effects of methyl donors beyond the one-carbon metabolism pathways, including production performance, immune cell function,mechanistic target or rapamycin signaling, and fatty acid oxidation will also be highlighted. Furthermore, the effects of body condition and feeding system(total mixed ration vs. pasture) on one-carbon metabolism pathways are explored. Potential effects of methyl donor supply during the pepartum period on dairy calf growth and development also are discussed. Lastly, practical nutritional recommendations related to methyl donor metabolism during the peripartal period are presented. Nutritional management during the peripartal period is a fertile area of research, hence, underscoring the importance for developing a systems understanding of the potential immunometabolic role that dietary methyl donors play during this period to promote health and performance.     

生长因子在着床前鼠胚发育中的作用

近年来,大量的研究显示。生长因子在哺乳动物着床前胚胎的发育中起了十分重要的作用。首先。哺乳动物着床前胚胎以及生殖道中可以表达多种生长因子及其受体,并且在体外实验中通过添加生长因子,如EGF、IGF-Ⅰ、IGF-Ⅱ等能显著促进胚胎细胞的增生与分化。同时,如果加入抗生长因子抗体或受体抑制剂。可以阻     

Influence of short-term confinement and exercise on tibia development in growing pigs

The influence of short-term confinement and moderate exercise on tibia development was investigated in growing pigs (36-41 kg, 10 weeks at the beginning of the study). Animals were kept for 2 weeks either in individual crates of 0.8 m(2) ('confinement', n = 4) or kept in groups of four animals in large crates of 5.6 m(2) without ('control') or with additional exercise (30 min walking at 5 days/week; 'exercise'). Bone density and morphological parameters were evaluated by computer tomography (CT). Periosteal apposition and longitudinal growth were determined after polychrome sequential labelling in weekly intervals. Cortical areas of the cross sections at the mid-shaft and at 75% of the length of the bone measured distal to the carpus by CT were significantly correlated to each other (r = 0.70) and revealed a significant reduction in confined animals. This difference was explained by lower periosteal apposition rates in these animals compared with exercised and group-housed pigs. Similarly longitudinal growth and the formation and calcification of spongiosa of the tibiae were inhibited by confinement. Thus, 2 weeks of confinement led to significant differences in bone growth and metabolism in young growing piglets when compared with animals with moderate activity.     

山羊早期胚胎发育相关基因的克隆

用单胚构建的mRNA差异显示技术,对体外培养的山羊早期2、4、8～16细胞期胚胎的基因表达进行了研究,并筛选到了1条在8～16细胞期胚胎特异表达的条带进行分析。结果表明,该片段与犬细胞周期蛋白B3（CCNB3）基因具有82%的同源性。该基因作用和调控细胞的分裂活动,是羊早期胚胎发育过程中的重要影响因素。     

体细胞克隆的小鼠胚胎在附植前后发育的研究

采用成年小鼠的卵丘细胞核、胎儿成纤维细胞作核供体细胞来进行核移植,研究小鼠卵母细胞的去核程序和影响重构胚附植前发育的激活条件;随后将重构胚与供体细胞系共培养后获得囊胚阶段的小鼠重构胚,并将其移植到受体鼠体内后获得了24%克隆胚胎。结果表明,小鼠卵母细胞质能够进行重编程来支持早期的胚胎发育。     

短期和长期盐胁迫对暖季型草坪草新选系生长的影响

通过盐水灌溉的方法,比较了短期(6周)和长期(9个月)盐胁迫对沟叶结缕草Zoysia matrella Z123、结缕草Z.japonica Z080、狗牙根Cynodon dactylon C291和海雀稗,Paspalum vaginatum P006 4个新选系生长影响的差异.以期为草坪草抗盐新品种选育和探讨短期与长期盐胁迫的试验结果之间的关系提供试验依据.结果表明:短期盐胁迫下以绿叶盖度和枝叶修剪干质量为指标,能够较好地评价草坪草的相对抗盐性,并且,待试材料短期的和长期的相对抗盐性评价结果是一致的.但具体到某一草种而言,在短期和长期盐胁迫后的实际生长表现上并不完全一致.短期盐胁迫下所有草坪草在50 g/L的盐度下均未死亡.而长期盐胁迫后Z080、C291、P006和Z123分别在20、40、50和50 g/L的盐度下死亡,长期盐胁迫下枝叶修剪干质量下降到50%时的盐度均小于短期盐胁迫的结果.根据长期盐胁迫下的绿叶盖度,4种草坪草的抗盐能力依次为:Z123>P006>C291>Z080.     

Stress exposure during the preimplantation period affects blastocyst lineages and offspring development

We found retardation of preimplantation embryo growth after exposure to maternal restraint stress during the preimplantation period in our previous study. In the present study, we evaluated the impact of preimplantation maternal restraint stress on the distribution of inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) cells in mouse blastocysts, and its possible effect on physiological development of offspring. We exposed spontaneously ovulating female mice to restraint stress for 30 min three times a day during the preimplantation period, and this treatment caused a significant increase in blood serum corticosterone concentration. Microscopic evaluation of embryos showed that restraint stress significantly decreased cell counts per blastocyst. Comparing the effect of restraint stress on the two blastocyst cell lineages, we found that the reduction in TE cells was more substantial than the reduction in ICM cells, which resulted in an increased ICM/TE ratio in blastocysts isolated from stressed dams compared with controls. Restraint stress reduced the number of implantation sites in uteri, significantly delayed eye opening in delivered mice, and altered their behavior in terms of two parameters (scratching on the base of an open field test apparatus, time spent in central zone) as well. Moreover, prenatally stressed offspring had significantly lower body weights and in 5-week old females delivered from stressed dams, fat deposits were significantly lower. Our results indicate that exposure to stress during very early pregnancy can have a negative impact on embryonic development with consequences reaching into postnatal life.     

Requirement for nuclear autoantigenic sperm protein mRNA expression in bovine preimplantation development

Nuclear autoantigenic sperm protein (NASP) is associated with DNA replication, cell proliferation, and cell cycle progression through its specific binding to histones. The aim of this study was to examine the roles of NASP in bovine preimplantation embryonic development. Using NASP gene knockdown (KD), we confirmed the reduction of NASP messenger RNA (mRNA) expression during preimplantation development. NASP KD did not affect cleavage but significantly decreased development of embryos into the blastocyst stage. Furthermore, blastocyst hatching was significantly decreased in NASP KD embryos. Cell numbers in the inner cell mass of NASP KD blastocysts were also decreased compared to those of controls. These results suggest that NASP mRNA expression is required for preimplantation development into the blastocyst stage in cattle.     

Direct embryotoxicity of chromium (III) exposure during preimplantation development

Chromium in its trivalent form (chromium (III)) is an essential component of a balanced diet, and its deficiency disturbs glucose and lipid metabolism in humans and animals. The prevailing view is that chromium (III) is notably less toxic than chromium (VI), which is genotoxic and carcinogenic. Thus, the biotransformation of environmental chromium (VI) to chromium (III) is a promising and environmentally friendly detoxification method. However, increasing evidence suggests that chromium (III) induces considerable cytotoxicity. However, the toxicity of chromium (III) to early embryos remains largely unknown. In the present study, we used in vitro fertilization (IVF) to produce mouse embryos and identified the direct embryotoxicity of chromium (III). On exposure to high concentrations of CrCl₃, blastocyst formation almost completely failed and a large proportion of embryos were arrested at the 2- to 4-cell stage. At low concentrations of CrCl₃, IVF embryos showed a significant decrease in blastocyst formation, reduced total cell numbers, aberrant lineage differentiation, increased oxidative stress, and apoptosis. We also found that chromium (III) exposure during the preimplantation stage, even at low concentrations, led to impaired post-implantation development. Thus, our study substantiates the direct embryotoxicity of chromium (III) during preimplantation development and prolonged impairment of development potential. The results further highlight the potential adverse effects of chromium (III) on public reproductive health with respect to increased environmental enrichment of and dietary supplementation with chromium (III) complexes.     

Reduced dosage of ketoprofen for the short-term and long-term treatment of joint pain in dogs

Two studies were conducted under laboratory conditions with 16 dogs to investigate the analgesic effectiveness of a low dose of ketoprofen in a short-term sodium urate crystal-induced synovitis model of arthritis. The effect of the treatment, defined as the improvement in peak vertical force weight bearing was evaluated in the first study at three dose levels. A single oral dose of 0.25 mg/kg ketoprofen was significantly better (P < 0.01) than the control (0 mg), but doses of 0.5 and 0.75 mg/kg did not improve the dogs' weight bearing further. The second study investigated the efficacy and safety of the 0.25 mg/kg dose administered daily for 30 days. The beneficial effects of ketoprofen at this dose were constant, with the treated dogs bearing 89.1 per cent of the baseline vertical force four hours after the induction of arthritis on day 1 and 92.2 per cent on day 29, compared with 42 per cent and 34 per cent of the baseline in the untreated dogs. No gastrointestinal or other side effects were observed during the treatment.     

Action of proteinase inhibitors. 4. Effect of short-term application of chymostatin on nitrogen metabolism in the digestive tract and protein metabolism in tissue

Chymostatin is an effective inhibitor of intracellular proteinases in vitro. In the present experiment male rats were injected intraperitonealy during a 3 days period twice daily with a solution containing 0,9 mg Chymostatin per 100 g live weight. Reference animals received a control injection containing the same solvents but no chymostatin. During this period a daily nitrogen balance was made and metabolic faecal nitrogen and true digestibility of nitrogen were estimated using 15N-labelled animals. Furthermore, apparent biological half lives of proteins in liver and intestinal tissues were determined following the decay curves for radioactivity in proteins 48 hours after injection of L-[5-3H]-arginine und L-[guanido-14C]-arginine. The fractional rate of protein synthesis in tissues was measured by a 6 hours continuous infusion technique with L-[U-14C]-tyrosine and L-[U-14C]-leucine. Among the parameters estimated only the apparent biological half lives of proteins in liver and intestinal tissues were influenced by chymostatin. However, the prolonged half lives seemed to be rather an effect of an increased reutilisation of amino acids resulting from the intracellular protein breakdown than a decreased rate of protein degradation. The in vivo effect of the proteinase inhibitor was by far inferior compared with the action in vitro. Factors like distribution, degradation and excretion of the inhibitor could be responsible for the moderate in vivo action of chymostatin.