Bovine placental protease specificity toward muscle connective tissue proteins

Enzymes currently used to tenderize meat are not substrate-specific, resulting in extensive myofibrillar protein degradation that often produces an undesirable texture. Bovine placental metalloproteases, which selectively hydrolyze connective tissue proteins while leaving myofibrillar proteins intact, may tenderize meat without causing texture problems. Therefore, our objective was to extract and crudely purify bovine metalloproteases from bovine placenta for possible use as tenderizers in meat systems. Enzymes were extracted from homogenized tissue and purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation. Samples were collected before (crude enzyme) and after gel filtration on a Sephadex G-100 column. Spectrophotometric analysis identified one major peak (filtered enzyme). Gelatin, casein, and type I acid-soluble collagen zymography were used to determine substrate specificity. Beef myofibrillar proteins were incubated with crude and filtered enzyme fractions, enzymes quenched, and substrate degradation visualized using SDS-PAGE. Active gelatinases and collagenases exhibiting molecular weights of 57 to 65 kDa were detected on zymograms. Banding patterns from crude enzyme indicated two enzymes with both gelatinase and collagenase activity and a third enzyme with gelatinase activity only. Banding patterns from filtered enzyme indicated two enzymes with both gelatinase and collagenase activity. Proteolytic activity was not detected with casein, actin, or myosin heavy-chain substrates. Due to specificity for collagen and gelatin, these enzymes may be capable of improving the tenderness of certain cuts relatively high in connective tissue, while avoiding myofibrillar protein hydrolysis.     

牛的体外受精技术研究进展

本文阐述了体外受精技术在牛胚胎工程和育种研究中的意义,介绍了牛体外受精技术的研究历史和目前的研究进展,对牛IVF技术的技术指标现状及经济效益进行了评估,并就牛的体外受精技术当前研究存在的问题作了评述,对其前景做了展望。     

牛的体外受精技术研究进展

本文阐述了体外受精技术在牛胚胎工程和育种研究中的意义,介绍了牛体外受精技术的研究历史和目前的研究进展,对牛IVF技术的技术指标现状及经济效益进行了评估,并就牛的体外受精技术当前研究存在的问题作了评述,对其前景做了展望。     

牛胚胎的体外生产技术

应用体外受精技术，可以有效地利用淘汰的高产奶牛和屠宰的青年母牛卵巢中的未成熟卵，大量，廉价地实验室生产胚胎，这对加速我国高产奶牛群和良种肉牛群的繁殖，是一项行之有效的胚胎工程技术，借鉴国外实验室生产牛胚胎的经验和根据我们实验室的实践，本文比较详细地叙述了体外受精牛胚胎（试管牛）的生产过程，包括卵母细胞的获得，培养，精子获能，体外受精以及受精后的胚胎培养，超低温冷冻保存与解冻后的胚胎移植等。     

Bovine interleukin 2: production and characterization

The production of bovine IL 2 was studied and IL 2 was partially characterized. PMA at 5 ng/ml + Concanavalin A at 5 micrograms/ml treatment of peripheral blood mononuclear cells gave a greater yield of IL 2 activity in the supernatants than Con A, PMA or sodium periodate treatments alone. Macrophage depletion increased yields as did the addition of indomethacin, a prostaglandin E2 inhibitor. Bovine IL 2 was sensitive to trypsin, relatively stable at pH 2-9, 2-ME resistant and sensitive to increasing molar concentrations of urea. The activity of bovine IL 2 was reduced by over 45% at 70 degrees C for 30 min and 95% at 90 degrees C for 30 min. Bovine IL 2 was more stable at 4 degrees C than at room temperature and the stability at room temperature could be improved by inclusion of 1% BSA. Bovine IL 2 eluted from DEAE-Sephadex as a broad peak with 0.1-0.2 M NaCl. Peak activity corresponded to a molecular weight of approximately 16,000 daltons on Sephadex G-100.     

Bovine natural killer cells are present in Escherichia coli infected mammary gland tissue and show antimicrobial activity in vitro

Natural killer (NK) cells are early responders in bacterial infections but their role in bovine mastitis has not been characterized. For the first time, we show the presence of NK cells (NKp46⁺/CD3⁻) in bovine mammary gland tissue after an intramammary challenge with Escherichia (E.) coli. A small number of NK cells was detected in milk from quarters before and during an E. coli challenge. In vitro cultures of primary bovine mammary gland epithelial cells stimulated with UV irradiated E. coli induced significant migration of peripheral blood NK cells (pbNK) within 2 h. Furthermore, pbNK cells significantly reduced counts of live E. coli in vitro within 2 h of culture. The results show that bovine NK cells have the capacity to migrate to the site of infection and produce antibacterial mediators. These findings introduce NK cells as a leukocyte population in the mammary gland with potential functions in the innate immune response in bovine mastitis.     

Bovine sirtuins: initial characterization and expression of sirtuins 1 and 3 in liver, muscle, and adipose tissue

Sirtuins, the mammalian homologs of the silent information regulator 2 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, are members of the NAD(+)-dependent family of histone deacetylases. In vertebrates, 7 sirtuins have been described, with different cellular localizations and target proteins. Glucose and lipid metabolism are among the processes regulated by these enzymes. In ruminants, gluconeogenesis is the main biochemical pathway by which glucose is obtained. Because sirtuins in bovines have not been studied, the aim of this work was to obtain sequences coding for the 7 sirtuins and determine the expression patterns of sirtuin1 (Sirt1) and sirtuin3 (Sirt3) in the liver, muscle, and adipose tissue of calves and bulls. Using PCR amplification, we obtained sirtuin gene sequences and reported them to the National Center for Biotechnology Information GenBank. Characteristic sequence motifs corresponding to the sirtuin catalytic core domain were found, including the active and zinc-binding sites. Relative expression patterns of Sirt1 and Sirt3 in liver, muscle, and adipose tissue were quantified by real-time PCR, normalizing to the geometric mean of the housekeeping genes cyclophilin A and β-actin. Expression of Sirt1 was less in liver and muscle, whereas it was greater in adipose tissue of adult animals, with statistical differences (P=0.0071) only in the latter. In the case of Sirt3, expression was greater in all 3 adult tissues, but statistical differences were found only in liver (P=0.0141) and muscle (P=0.0017). The greatest expression was observed in liver for Sirt1 and in muscle for Sirt3, whereas the least expression was in muscle for Sirt1 and in adipose tissue for Sirt3. In other species, sirtuin expression (both Sirt1 and Sirt3) in liver is reported to be the greatest among these 3 tissues, a pattern different from what we measured. These differences in expression can be associated with metabolic differences between nonruminant and ruminant species. However, further research on the relationship between bovine sirtuins and ruminant metabolism is required for a better understanding of these fields.     

牛精子体外获能的研究进展

文章从精子体外获能的分子机制和体外获能的影响因素等两个方面对牛精子体外获能的发展现状作了比较全面的概括.同时指出了各种处理精子方法的优缺点.并指出了牛精子体外获能的研究价值和意义.     

牛的体外受精技术研究进展

本文阐述了体外受精技术在牛胚胎工程和育种研究中的意义，介绍了牛体外受精技术的研究历史和目前的研究进展，对牛体外受精技术的技术指标现状及经济效益进行了评估，并就牛的体外受精技术当前研究存在的问题作了评述，对其前景做了展望。     

The role of intramuscular connective tissue in meat texture

The structure, composition and amount of intramuscular connective tissue (IMCT) vary tremendously between muscles, species and breeds, and certainly contribute to meat texture. With animal growth, collagen crosslinks become more stable, and the structural integrity of IMCT increases. These changes increase the mechanical properties of IMCT, contributing to the toughening of meat. Intramuscular fat deposits, mainly in the perimysium between muscle fiber bundles, result in marbling. This causes the remodeling of IMCT structures and reduces the mechanical strength of IMCT, contributing to the tenderization of beef. The IMCT has been thought to be rather immutable compared to myofibrils during postmortem ageing of meat. However, recent studies have shown the disintegration of IMCT during postmortem ageing of meat and its relationship to tenderization of raw meat, although its contribution to cooked meat is still controversial. Given the large influence of IMCT on meat texture, further elucidations of molecular mechanisms which change the structural integrity of IMCT during chronological ageing of animals and postmortem ageing of meat are needed.     

牛体外胚胎冷冻保存的研究进展

体外胚胎冷冻保存技术是胚胎移植技术的重要组成部分,在辅助生殖技术中发挥重要作用,同时对种质资源保存、加强遗传改良和促进优质种源国际交流等方面具有重要意义。然而,体外胚胎冷冻过程中存在脂质含量过高、活性氧水平升高及机械损伤等问题,导致体外胚胎冷冻效率低,这极大地限制了体外胚胎冷冻保存技术的广泛应用。大量研究表明,通过去脂质、优化体外胚胎培养液、人工塌陷囊胚腔和优化冷冻程序等手段,可以有效提高冷冻后胚胎的存活率和发育能力。因此,本文概述了体外胚胎冷冻保存技术的研究进展和胚胎冷冻过程中存在的问题,总结了提高体外胚胎冷冻效率的方法措施,旨在为提高体外胚胎冷冻保存效率提供一定参考。     

Bovine interleukin 2: biochemical and biological characterization

Interleukin 2 (IL-2), secreted by bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBL) on stimulation with concanavalin A (Con A), was purified and characterized by different chromatographic and electrophoretic techniques. The ability of IL-2 to support proliferation of Con A-stimulated bovine lymphoblasts was used to assay and quantitate IL-2 activity. Bovine IL-2 having an apparent MW of 27,000 eluted from a gel-filtration column; from an anion exchange column peak activity was detected at 190 mM NaCl. Binding of bovine IL-2 to phenyl-Sepharose gel and elution with 35-60% ethanediol indicated its hydrophobic nature. Studies on cross-species reactivity revealed that both buffalo and goat lymphocytes respond to cattle IL-2 and detected 35% of activity from a standard cattle IL-2 preparation. Sheep lymphocyte response to cattle IL-2 was negligible.     

影响牛卵母细胞体外成熟的因素

本文就牛体外受精的关键环节之一体外成熟,阐述了卵母细胞质量、培养基、激素、生长因子、血清、卵泡液及颗粒细胞对其的影响。     

牛卵母细胞体外受精和体外成熟技术

文章从卵母细胞的来源、精子体外获能、卵母细胞体外成熟、体外受精和体外受精早期胚胎培养五个方面综述了牛卵母细胞体外受精和体外成熟技术的研究进展.同时指出了影响精子体外获能的因素、影响卵母细胞成熟培养的因素、体外受精存在的问题及解决办法等.并且对影响该技术的主要因素进行了系统分析.     

两种方法对牛体外受精及体外发育的影响

本研究包括２个试验。试验１，采用由多种大分子物质组成的生物试剂Ｐｅｒｃｏｌ做成离心梯度，离心处理精液获得较高活率的精子。将其用于卵母细胞的体外受精，在使用４５μＬ大小的受精滴及２×１０６个／ｍＬ的最终受精精子浓度时，加入２０个或４０个卵母细胞，二者均获得较高的分裂率（％）８９．０±５．０、８８．１±３．８及囊胚率（％）５１．０±７．０、４６．３±１６．７。试验２，为了更接近胚胎在母牛体内发育的实际状态（动态），采用一种新的方法即将摇床振动培养引入牛早期胚胎的体外发育阶段，以期提高胚胎发育质量。结果表明，在早期胚胎基数及环境因素完全一致的前提下，振动培养组的囊胚发育率（％）及囊胚卵化率（％）分别为６１．１±１２．２、８２．６±６．８，而常规的静置培养组为６７．４±６．３、８８．０±７．４，方差计算表明二者无显著差异（Ｐ＞０．０５）。     

Digital cushions in horses comprise coarse connective tissue, myxoid tissue, and cartilage but only little unilocular fat tissue

Digital cushions were studied in horses with particular reference to vascularization, tissue constituents and matrix components. The cushions mainly resembled a network of coarse collagen bundles. The areas inbetween the bundles were replenished with loosely woven interstitial connective tissue, myxoid tissue, and fibrocartilage. Expected masses of fat lobules were missing: only solitary adipocytes or small groups of adipocytes were seen. Vascular supply to the cushions was remarkably poor. The mucinous myxoid matrix largely consisted of hyaluronan with little sulphated glycosaminoglycans. Myxoid cells were stellate or ramified in shape and showed a tendency to store glycogen and lipid droplets. Myxoid cells reacted for vimentin and stained for S-100 protein. Moreover, myxoid cells often reacted for neuron specific enolase and glial fibrillary acidic protein. Myxoid tissue continuously transformed into loosely organized interstitial connective tissue with fibroblasts, which remained unreactive when tested for neuroectodermal markers. Myxoid tissue also was not clearly demarcated against irregularly interspersed islets of fibrocartilage or hyaline cartilage. Chondrocytes did not stain for neuron specific enolase but reactivity for S-100 protein and glial fibrillary acidic protein was noted in peripheral regions of fibrocartilage. Single or grouped unilocular fat cells were rarely placed into myxoid areas. Unilocular fat cells stained for vimentin, S-100 protein, and occasionally for glial fibrillary acidic protein but not for neuron specific enolase. Continuous transformation of myxoid tissue into cartilage together with corresponding reactivity for neuroectodermal marker proteins of myxoid cells and peripherally located chondrocytes suggest close relationship between myxoid cells and chondrocytes. The same criteria indicate relationship between myxoid cells and adipocytes. Coarse connective tissue, myxoid tissue, fibrous cartilage, and fat cells are functionally combined to absorb mechanical shock in the horse digital cushions.