Role of beta-adrenoceptor signaling and AMP-activated protein kinase in glycolysis of postmortem skeletal muscle

Postmortem glycolysis is directly linked to the incidences of PSE (pale, soft, and exudative) and DFD (dark, firm, and dry) meats, which cause significant economic loss to the meat industry. However, mechanisms controlling postmortem glycolysis are unclear. The objective of this study was to determine the role of beta-adrenoceptor signaling and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in postmortem glycolysis. Eighteen 2 month old C57BL/6J female mice were randomly separated into three groups. Group I received an intraperitoneal injection of saline solution only and served as the control; group II received a saline injection and then were forced to swim for 1 min; and group III received an injection of propranolol (1 mg/kg) in saline. In addition, six C57BL/6J female AMPK knockout mice were assigned to group IV, which received a saline injection and were forced to swim for 1 min. The longissimus dorsi muscle was sampled at 0, 1, and 24 h postmortem for pH and enzyme activity measurements. The objective is to elucidate the roles of beta-adrenoceptor signaling and AMPK in the glycolysis of postmortem muscle. Results showed that AMPK activity had a major role in determining the ultimate muscle pH, with an ultimate pH for control mice of 6.16 and AMPK knockout mice of 6.48. The beta-adrenoceptor signaling is essential for initial rapid glycolysis. Blocking beta-adrenoceptor signaling prevented the initial pH decline induced by stress. Activation of beta-adrenoceptor signaling due to preslaughter stress activates glycogen phosphorylase, resulting in a rapid glycolysis shortly after slaughter. On the other hand, the activation of AMPK is important for maintaining the activity of glycogen phosphorylase and pyruvate kinase, leading to a sustained glycolysis and a low ultimate pH.     

Identification of protein degradation during post-mortem storage of pig meat

Eighteen proteins and peptides that were found to change post-mortem in Longissimus dorsi from pig muscle were identified by the use of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The 18 peptides originate from 9 different proteins including the 3 structural proteins (actin, myosin heavy chain, and troponin T) and the 6 metabolic proteins glycogen phosphorylase, creatine kinase, phosphopyruvate hydratase, myokinase, pyruvate kinase, and dihydrolipoamide succinyltransferase. The molecular weight and estimated sequence length of the identified spots show that these fragments result from proteolytic activity in meat. Identification of the parent proteins and the enhanced post-mortem appearance of the degradation products make these specific peptides good candidates for meat quality markers, and further studies of these specific fragments will lead to a better understanding of the proteolytic activities involved in the post-mortem conversion of muscle to meat.     

Rapid post-mortem glycolysis and delay chilling of turkey carcasses cause alterations to protein extractability and degradation of breast muscle proteins.

SDS-PAGE banding patterns of myofibrillar protein samples from turkey breast muscle with pH < or =5.8 at 15 min post-mortem (rapid glycolyzing) contained 133, 142, and 165 kDa bands that were absent in samples from carcasses with pH >6.0 at 15 min post-mortem (normal glycolyzing). These extra protein bands contained fragments of myosin as identified by Western blot analysis. Myosin fragments were also observed in protein samples from breast muscle not allowed to cool until 110 min post-mortem (delay chilled). In addition to myosin degradation, neublin degradation was more extensive in samples from rapid glycolyzing carcasses than for normal controls. Creatine kinase and glycogen phosphorylase were present in myofibrillar protein extracts of rapid glycolyzing carcasses in higher quantities than in normal controls. Results of this study provide insight into the molecular basis for previously reported reductions in meat quality of rapid glycolyzing and delay chilled turkey meat.     

pH Dependence of the progression in NMR T(2) relaxation times in post-mortem muscle

Continuous NMR T(2) relaxation measurements were carried out on seven rabbit longissimus muscle samples in the period from 25 min to 28 h post-mortem at 200 MHz for (1)H. To display differences in post-mortem pH progress and extent of changes in water characteristics during conversion of muscle to meat, three of the seven animals were pre-slaughter injected with adrenaline (0.5 mg/kg live weight 4 h before sacrifice) to differentiate muscle glycogen stores at the time of slaughter. Distributed analysis of T(2) data displayed clear differences in the characteristics of the various transverse relaxation components dependent on progress in pH, as did the water-holding capacity of samples 24 h post-mortem. This reveals a pronounced effect of the progressive change in pH on the subsequent development in physical/chemical states of water during the conversion of muscle to meat. Finally, the relaxation characteristics are discussed in relation to supposed post-mortem processes of protein denaturation.     

Myowater dynamics and protein secondary structural changes as affected by heating rate in three pork qualities: a combined FT-IR microspectroscopic and 1H NMR relaxometry study

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of heating rate on myowater dynamics and protein secondary structures in three pork qualities by proton NMR T2 relaxation and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy measurements. Two oven temperatures at 100 degrees C and 200 degrees C corresponding to slow and fast heating rates were applied on three pork qualities (DFD, PSE, and normal) to an internal center temperature of 65 degrees C. The fast heating induced a higher cooking loss, particularly for PSE meat. The water proton T21 distribution representing water entrapped within the myofibrillar network was influenced by heating rate and meat quality. Fast heating broadened the T21 distribution and decreased the relaxation times of the T21 peak position for three meat qualities. The changes in T21 relaxation times in meat can be interpreted in terms of chemical and diffusive exchange. FT-IR showed that fast heating caused a higher gain of random structures and aggregated beta-sheets at the expense of native alpha-helixes, and these changes dominate the fast-heating-induced broadening of T21 distribution and reduction in T21 times. Furthermore, of the three meat qualities, PSE meat had the broadest T21 distribution and the lowest T21 times for both heating rates, reflecting that the protein aggregation of PSE caused by heating is more extensive than those of DFD and normal, which is consistent with the IR data. The present study demonstrated that the changes in T2 relaxation times of water protons affected by heating rate and raw meat quality are well related to the protein secondary structural changes as probed by FT-IR microspectroscopy.     

运输季节对生猪应激及猪肉品质的影响

为了研究运输季节对猪宰前应激及宰后猪肉品质的影响,该文以杜大长三元杂交猪为对象,测定了夏、秋和冬3个季节运输条件下猪的血液生化指标、血细胞系数以及宰后猪肉温度、p H值、保水性、色泽和剪切力的变化。结果表明:秋季运输猪血液中白细胞数、血红蛋白、红细胞压积、葡萄糖、促肾上腺皮质激素和皮质醇浓度显著低于夏季和冬季组(P0.05),胴体表面皮肤损伤也显著降低(P0.05)。运输季节对宰后猪肉胴体温度、p H值、色泽及保水性有显著性影响(P0.05)。与秋季运输相比,夏季运输猪宰后45 min胴体温度、滴水损失率、L值显著升高,a*值和剪切力显著下降(P0.05);冬季运输猪宰后猪肉a*值增加(P0.05),但滴水损失率与秋季组相比并无显著性差异(P0.05)。因此猪在秋季运输能显著降低宰前动物应激,提高宰后猪肉品质,夏季和冬季如能对运输环境分别进行防暑和保暖处理可能会对猪应激反应和猪肉品质产生积极的作用。该研究结果对于屠宰行业实际生产过程中缓解生猪宰前运输应激,改善动物福利以及提高猪肉品质提供参考。     

Relationship between kinase phosphorylation, muscle fiber typing, and glycogen accumulation in longissimus muscle of beef cattle with high and low intramuscular fat

The objective of this study was to examine the association of adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) with glycogen content in bovine muscle and their links with intramuscular fat (IMF) and muscle fiber type composition. Five steers with high intramuscular fat (High IMF, IMF content is 5.71 +/- 0.36%) and five steers with low intramuscular fat (Low IMF, IMF content is 2.09 +/- 0.19%) in the longissimus thoracis muscle (LM) were selected for immunoblotting, glycogen, and myofiber type composition analyses. The glycogen content was higher in Low IMF muscle than in High IMF muscle (1.07 +/- 0.07 versus 0.85 +/- 0.08 g/100 g muscle, P < 0.05). Phosphorylation of the AMPK alpha subunit at Thr 172, which is correlated with its activity, was lower (P < 0.05) in High IMF compared to Low IMF. In agreement with the lower AMPK phosphorylation in High IMF muscle, the phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) was also lower (P < 0.05) in High IMF muscle than in Low IMF muscle. Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) down-regulates glycogen synthesis through phosphorylation of glycogen synthase. The phosphorylation of GSK3 in High IMF was lower (P < 0.05) than that in Low IMF, which should down-regulate glycogen synthase activity and reduce the glycogen content in High IMF beef. Type IIB myosin isoform was absent in beef muscle. No noticeable difference in myosin isoform composition was observed between Low and High IMF muscle. In summary, High IMF cattle had lower LM glycogen levels than low IMF cattle, and AMPK activity was less in High IMF than in Low IMF cattle. The difference in glycogen content between Low and High IMF muscle was not correlated with muscle fiber composition. This data shows that LM lipid and glycogen metabolisms are affected by AMPK activity. Thus, AMPK may be a molecular target to alter IMF and glycogen levels in beef muscle.     

Origin of multiexponential T(2) relaxation in muscle myowater.

To obtain a further understanding of the nature of the multiexponential T(2) relaxation seen in muscle tissue water (myowater), relaxation measurements were carried out on whole, minced, and homogenized pork of three different qualities with regard to water-holding capacity (normal, red soft exudative, and dark firm dry). Whole, minced, and homogenized pork all resulted in multiexponential T(2) relaxation (three components) independently of the quality, even though microscopic studies on homogenized meat revealed considerable disruption of the macroscopic structure. This states that the relaxation behavior in meat cannot be explained by intra-/extracellular compartmentalization of the water as suggested in earlier studies. Subsequent studies of T(2) relaxation in either whole meat, where the structure integrity was changed by the introduction of dimethyl sulfoxide (membrane disruption) or urea (protein denaturation), or minced meat with added NaCl (inter-/intraprotein interactions) lead to the suggestion that in whole meat (i) the fastest relaxation component reflects water tightly associated with macromolecules, (ii) the intermediate relaxation component reflects water located within highly organized protein structures, for example, water in tertiary and/or quaternary protein structures and spatials with high myofibrillar protein densities including actin and myosin filament structures, and (iii) the slowest relaxation component reflects the extra-myofibrillar water containing the sarcoplasmatic protein fraction. Finally, relaxation patterns in heat-set gels of superprecipitated actomyosin and bovine serum albumin similar to that identified in whole meat support the proposed nature of T(2) relaxation in muscle myowater.     

基于偏最小二乘投影的可见/近红外光谱猪肉综合品质分类

针对全波段光谱技术的生鲜猪肉综合品质快速无损分类存在光谱数据量大、样本数量较少时分类准确率较低等缺点。该文提出了一种基于偏最小二乘(partial least squares,PLS)投影分析算法和支持向量机的生鲜猪肉综合品质分类器。利用基于偏最小二乘投影分析算法对全波段光谱数据进行数据降维,选取了13个特征波长。利用粒子群优化算法优化支持向量机惩罚参数和径向基核函数参数,优化后二者最优为4.939和0.01。利用选取的特征波长和优化后的参数建立了生鲜猪肉综合品质支持向量分类器。研究结果表明,分类器对训练集中白肌肉(pale,soft and exudative,PSE)、正常肉(reddish-pink,firm and non-exudative,RFN)和黑干肉(dark,firm and dry,DFD)的回判识别率分别为为88.46%、94.11%和92.31%;测试集中PSE、RFN和DFD预测正确率分别为84.62%、94.11%和84.62%。该分类器满足模型简单、预测准确率高等优点,为生鲜猪肉综合品质在线分级提供参考。     

Modifications of trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) muscle proteins by preslaughter activity

The effect of two different preslaughter procedures (limited or 15-min intense muscular activity) on muscle trout proteins was investigated. Muscle was sampled 45 min and 24 h post-mortem, proteins were separated using two-dimensional electrophoresis, and spots of interest were tentatively identified by MALDI-TOF spectrometry. Twenty-nine and 4 spots were differentially represented between the two groups of fish at 45 min and 24 h post-mortem, respectively. Spots that could be identified corresponded mainly to proteins involved in energy-producing pathways (triosephosphate isomerase, enolase, pyruvate dehydrogenase) or to structural proteins (desmin, cap-Z, myosin heavy chain fragment). Persistent under-representation of desmin, a key cytoskeletal protein, in fish submitted to intense muscular activity suggests that such a preslaughter treatment can have an effect on post-mortem muscle integrity.     

Proteome analysis elucidating post-mortem changes in cod (Gadus morhua) muscle proteins

Proteome analysis was successfully applied to study the alterations in fish muscle proteins during ice storage. The processes occurring during post-mortem metabolism are known to lead to characteristic changes in the texture and taste of fish muscle. Endogenous proteases are anticipated to play the major role in these processes, although the exact mechanisms during fish meat tenderization have yet to be depicted. Protein changes in cod (Gadus morhua) muscle were followed during 8 days of storage. Within the partial proteome (pI 3.5-8.0, MW 13-35 kDa) significant changes were found in 11 protein spots. In nine protein spots the intensity increased, and for eight of these the increases were significant (p < 0.05) within the first 2 h post-mortem. In contrast, two protein spots decreasing in intensity showed significant (p < 0.03) changes after 8 days, thereby indicating that in the fish muscle different biochemical processes are involved in the protein changes observed post-mortem.     

NO-AMPK通路对牛肉宰后成熟过程中蛋白特性与肉品质的影响

为研究宰后NO-AMPK通路对牛肉蛋白特性及肉品质的影响,以一氧化氮合成酶(NOS)抑制剂L-NAME、一磷酸腺苷活化蛋白激酶(AMPK)抑制剂Compound C处理的牛臀股四头肌为研究对象,生理盐水处理作为对照,将肉样与处理液在4℃条件下1:1(g:mL)混合浸泡12 h后,在成熟0、6、12、24、48、72、120 h测定肉样的蛋白功能特性、保水性、嫩度以及肌肉组织结构等相关指标。结果显示,L-NAME组中一氧化氮NO含量在6~72 h显著低于对照组(P<0.05);3组中AMPK活性先增大后减小,L-NAME组和Compound C组中AMPK活性在6 h分别比对照组降低14.78%和26.75%;L-NAME组中总蛋白溶解性在6、24 h低于Compound C组,高于对照组(P<0.05),表面疏水性在12、48 h显著低于对照组(P<0.05)并高于Compound C组;L-NAME组中剪切力仅在48 h显著高于对照组并低于Compound C组(P<0.05);对照组中肉样蒸煮损失最大,Compound C组中肉样蒸煮损失最小。以上结果表明,牛肉宰后成熟过程中,NO能够通过AMPK通路改善牛肉嫩度,但对其保水性产生了不利影响。本研究结果可为牛肉宰后能量代谢及肉品质控制相关研究提供一定的理论基础。     

Postmortem changes in pork muscle protein phosphorylation in relation to the RN genotype

Postmortem changes in pork muscle protein phosphorylation in relation to the RN(-) genotype were investigated using one-dimensional gel electrophoresis and a phosphor specific staining. The phosphorylation levels of several protein bands were found to be affected by the RN(-) genotype and to change during postmortem development. Glycogen phosphorylase, phosphofructokinase, and pyruvate kinase were found in protein bands affected by the RN(-) genotype, and the phosphorylation profile indicates that part of the increased rate and extended pH decline of the RN(-) genotype could be a consequence of phosphorylation of these key enzymes during the postmortem metabolism. The results illustrate that the protein phosphorylation level of the muscle proteins could be interpreted as a global metabolic fingerprint containing information about the activity status of the enzymes in the postmortem metabolism.     

Consumption of oxidized oil increases oxidative stress in broilers and affects the quality of breast meat

A total of 120 4-week-old broiler chickens were allotted to 12 pens and fed one of three diets including control, oxidized diet (5% oxidized oil), or antioxidant-added diet (500 IU vitamin E) for 2 weeks. Blood samples were collected at the end of feeding trial, and breast muscles were sampled immediately after slaughter. Breast meats were also collected 24 h after slaughter and used for meat quality measurements. Oxidative stress in blood, lipid and protein oxidation, and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2(+)-ATPase (SERCA) activity of breast muscle were determined. The oxidized diet increased oxidative stress in blood and increased carbonyl content in breast meat compared with the other two dietary treatments (P < 0.05). Lipid oxidation of breast muscles with the antioxidant-supplemented diet was lower than that with the oxidized and control diet groups (P < 0.05). Meat from birds fed the oxidized diet showed higher drip loss after 1 and 3 days of storage and greater 0-1 h post-mortem pH decline (P < 0.05). Significant differences in specific SERCA activity in breast muscles from birds fed control and oxidized diets (P < 0.05) were detected. This suggested that dietary oxidized oil induced oxidative stress in live birds and increased lipid and protein oxidation in breast muscle. Decrease in SERCA activity in breast muscles due to oxidative stress in live animals accelerated post-mortem glycolysis, which sped the pH drop after slaughter and increased drip loss, indicating that oxidation of diet can cause PSE-like (pale, soft, and exudative) conditions in broiler breast muscles.     

电子鼻在牦牛肉和牛肉猪肉识别中的应用

为了探索电子鼻对肉类掺假识别的可行性,利用电子鼻对牦牛肉、牛肉和猪肉样品进行了分析。通过对所获得的数据进行主成分分析（principal component analysis,PCA）、判别因子分析（discriminant factor analysis,DFA）和偏最小二乘回归分析（partial least-squares analysis,PLS）。结果表明：几种肉类在电子鼻传感器上有不同的特征性响应图谱,电子鼻能够有效识别猪、牛肉;同时电子鼻能够识别不同部位的牦牛肉和普通牛肉;但不能识别不同部位的猪肉。在牛肉馅中掺入不同比例的猪肉馅时,电子鼻也能进行识别。采用偏最小二乘回归分析对数据进行处理,电子鼻响应信号和猪肉馅掺入比例之间有很好的相关性（决定系数R2为0.9762）,PLS模型预测误差在1.27%～7.00%之间。试验证明电子鼻可用于肉类的识别。     

猪肌肉发育调控和高瘦肉率基因改良猪的研究进展

猪肉的产量和质量与肌肉发育过程紧密相关。肌肉发育包括胚胎期肌纤维的形成、出生后肌纤维的发育和成年期肌肉的再生等步骤,该过程受到转录水平、转录后水平及通路水平等多层次的网络调控。本文以猪肌肉发育过程为切入点,重点讨论了调控猪肌肉发育的分子基础和高瘦肉率基因改良猪的研究进展,为进一步培育优质猪肉和高瘦肉率猪品种提供了参考。     

Osthole enhances glucose uptake through activation of AMP-activated protein kinase in skeletal muscle cells

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an energy sensor that regulates cellular metabolism. Activation of AMPK in skeletal muscles, the liver, and adipose tissues results in a favorable metabolic milieu for preventing and treating type 2 diabetes, i.e., decreased levels of circulating glucose, plasma lipids, and ectopic fat accumulation and enhanced insulin sensitivity. Osthole was extracted from a Chinese herbal medicine, and we found that it had glucose lowering activity in our previous study. However, the detailed glucose lowering mechanisms of osthole are still unclear. In this study, we used skeletal muscle cells to examine the underlying molecular mechanisms of osthole's glucose lowering activity. A Western blot analysis revealed that osthole significantly induced phosphorylation of AMPK and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC). Next, we found that osthole significantly increased the level of translocation of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) to plasma membranes and glucose uptake in a dose-dependent manner. Osthole-induced glucose uptake was reversed by treatment with Compound C, an AMPK inhibitor, suggesting that osthole-induced glucose uptake was mediated in an AMPK-dependent manner. The increase in the AMP:ATP ratio was involved in osthole's activation of AMPK. Finally, we found that osthole counteracted hyperglycemia in mice with streptozotocin-induced diabetes. These results suggest that the increase in the AMP:ATP ratio by osthole triggered activation of the AMPK signaling pathway and led to increases in plasma membrane GLUT4 content and glucose uptake level. Therefore, osthole might have potential as an antidiabetic agent for treating diabetes.     

Natural variations of precursors in pig meat affect the yield of heterocyclic amines--effects of RN genotype, feeding regime, and sex

Pig meat shows natural variations in the concentrations of precursors of heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which may affect formation of HCAs in cooked pig meat. To study this, 26 pigs with an inherent genetic variation (carriers and noncarriers of the RN(-) allele) were subjected to different feeding regimes (conventional feed compared with feed composed according to organic standards). In addition, the effect of sex (castrated males or females) was considered when assessing chemical and technological meat quality parameters. Concentrations of precursors of HCAs, i.e., creatine, residual glycogen, dipeptides, and free amino acids, were analyzed in the raw meat, and the levels of some HCAs (4,8-DiMeIQx, MeIQx, PhIP, harman, and norharman) were then determined in fried meat patties prepared from these pigs. The RN genotype most affected technological meat quality parameters and the level of precursors of HCAs, especially the level of residual glycogen, where carriers of the RN(-) allele showed levels four times as high as those of noncarriers (75.3 +/- 2.6 compared with 17.2 +/- 2.4 micromol/g meat, least-squares means +/- SE). The increased level of residual glycogen resulted in about 50% lower amounts of total mutagenic HCAs in cooked meat compared with cooked meat from normal pigs. Fried meat from carriers of the RN(-) allele obtained darker crust color than meat from noncarriers. Feeding regime and sex did not significantly affect the chemical composition of the meat or the formation of HCAs.     

Detection of poultry and pork in cooked and canned meat foods by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) are described for the detection of poultry and pork in cooked and canned meat foods. These assays are based on species-specific, polyclonal antibodies raised against heat-resistant antigens. The heat-resistant antigens were isolated from raw skeletal muscle tissue of pork and chicken and were found to be immunoreactive even after heating to 120 degrees C for 15 min. The poultry ELISA could detect chicken or turkey at the 126 ppm level, and the pork ELISA could detect pork at the 250 ppm level. Samples of frankfurters, bolognas, pressed meats, canned baby foods, and canned spreads were prepared by simple aqueous extractions.     

Establishment and application of a fluorescent polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method for identifying porcine,caprine, and bovine meats

A method of fluorescent Polymerase Chain Reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was applied as an analytical and quantitative tool for meat identification. Following alignments of the nucleotide sequences, an oligonucleotide primer pair was designed to amplify the partial sequences within the 12S ribosomal RNA (12S rRNA) gene of mitochondrial DNA from porcine, caprine, and bovine meats. No fragment can be amplified from dog, cat, fish, duck, goose, turkey, and chicken DNA with the primer pair. Using fluorescence sensor capillary electrophoresis, the species-specific DNA fingerprints of pork, goat, and beef were generated by restriction enzyme digestion following a fluorescence-labeling PCR amplification. Species identification was conducted on the meat mixtures. The reliably semiquantitative levels were below 1% for binary mixtures of pork, goat, and beef. Cooking and autoclaving of meats did not influence the generation of the PCR-RFLP profiles or the analytical accuracy.