Effect of ruminal dosing of mechanical stimulating brush on rumination time, ruminal passage rate and rumen fermentation status in Holstein steers fed a concentrate diet

This experiment was conducted to determine the effect of ruminal dosing of a mechanical stimulating brush on rumination time, ruminal passage rate and rumen fermentation status in steers fed a concentrate diet at maintenance level. Animals were dosed three Rumen Faibu (RF) per head through the rumen fistulae (RF treatment) and not dosed (control) in a change‐over design. The organic cell wall content of the concentrate diet was 12.7% of dry matter. Daily time spent on rumination was very short in both treatments with 24 min in RF treatment and 15 min in control. The turnover rate of ruminal fluid in RF treatment was higher than that in control. There were no differences in ruminal pH and total volatile fatty acid concentration between RF treatment and control. Acetic and butyric acid concentrations were not different between the treatments. Propionic acid concentration tended to be higher in the animals on RF treatment than in control animals. The RF dosing in Holstein steers fed a low fiber diet did not affect the rumination time, but increased rumen digesta passage rate and ruminal propionic acid production.     

Comparison of intraoperative cardiorespiratory and behavioral responses to medetomidine combined with tramadol or butorphanol during standing laparoscopic ovariectomy in horses

The purpose of this study was to assess the cardiorespiratory and behavioral responses to the combination of medetomidine and tramadol (M-T) or butorphanol (M-B) in standing laparoscopic ovariectomy in horses. One ovary was removed under M-T and the contralateral ovary was removed under M-B with at least 4 weeks between operations at random. Horses were sedated using intravenous medetomidine (5 µg/kg) followed by tramadol (1 mg/kg) or butorphanol (10 µg/kg) after 5 min. Sedation was maintained through the repeated injection of medetomidine (1 µg/kg) and tramadol (0.4 mg/kg) or medetomidine (1 µg/kg) and butorphanol (4 µg/kg) every 15 min. Cardiorespiratory function and behavioral responses, including, sedation, ataxia, and analgesia, were assessed during the surgery. There were no significant differences in cardiorespiratory values and sedation and analgesia scores between M-T and M-B. Ataxia scores were significantly lower in M-T than in M-B. This result suggests that M-T could maintain smooth and stable standing surgery with minimal cardiorespiratory changes in horses.     

Comparison of N-terminal pro-atrial natriuretic peptide and three cardiac biomarkers for discriminatory ability of clinical stage in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease

Plasma N-terminal pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (NT-proANP) concentration increases with progression of myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) in dogs. This multicentre, prospective study compared plasma NT-proANP, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), ANP, and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentrations in dogs with MMVD for their characteristics and discriminatory ability to detect cardiac dilatation and congestive heart failure (CHF). Thirty-six healthy dogs and 69 dogs with MMVD were included. Clinical variables were obtained via physical examination, thoracic radiography, and echocardiography. The discriminatory ability of each cardiac biomarker (CB) to determine the presence or absence of cardiac dilatation (event 1) and CHF (event 2) was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic curves. Plasma NT-proANP, NT-proBNP, and ANP concentrations showed a significant association with the left atrium/aorta ratio (P<0.01). The area under the curve of plasma NT-proANP and NT-proBNP concentrations were 0.72 and 0.75, respectively in event1 and 0.72 and 0.76, respectively in event2. Plasma NT-proANP and NT-proBNP concentrations showed sensitivity 80.0 and 80.0%; specificity 67.6 and 64.7% in event1 (cutoff value; 8,497.81 pg/ml and 1,453.00 pmol/l, respectively) and sensitivity 85.7 and 81.0%; specificity 60.4 and 64.6% in event2 (cutoff value; 8,684.33 pg/ml and 1,772.00 pmol/l, respectively). In dogs with MMVD, plasma NT-proANP, NT-proBNP, and ANP concentrations increase with left atrial enlargement. Particularly, plasma NT-proANP and NT-proBNP concentrations appeared to be equally useful in the discriminatory ability to detect cardiac dilatation and CHF.     

Impaired female fertility in tubulointerstitial antigen-like 1-deficient mice

Tubulointerstitial nephritis antigen-like 1 (Tinagl1, also known as adrenocortical zonation factor 1 [AZ-1] or lipocalin 7) is a matricellular protein. Previously, we demonstrated that Tinagl1 expression was restricted to extraembryonic regions during the postimplantation period and detected marked expression in mouse Reichert’s membranes. In uteri, Tinagl1 is markedly expressed in the decidual endometrium during the postimplantation period, suggesting that it plays a physical and physiological role in embryo development and/or decidualization of the uterine endometrium during pregnancy. In the present study, in order to determine the role of Tinagl1 during embryonic development and pregnancy, we generated Tinagl1-deficient mice. Although Tinagl1^–/– embryos were not lethal during development to term, homologous matings of Tinagl1^–/– females and Tinagl1^–/– males showed impaired fertility during pregnancy, including failure to carry pregnancy to term and perinatal lethality. To examine ovarian function, ovulation was induced with equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG); the number of ovulated oocytes did not differ between Tinagl1^–/– and Tinagl1^flox/flox. In vitro fertilization followed by embryo culture also demonstrated the normal developmental potential of Tinagl1-null embryos during the preimplantation period. Our results demonstrate that Tinagl1 deficiency affects female mice and results in subfertility phenotypes, and they suggest that although the potential of Tinagl1^–/– oocytes is normal, Tinagl1 is related to fertility in adult females but is not essential for either fertilization or preimplantation development in vitro.     

Expression dynamics of bovine MX genes in the endometrium and placenta during early to mid pregnancy

MX belongs to a family of type I interferon (IFN)-stimulated genes, and the MX protein has antiviral activity. MX has at least two isoforms, known as MX1 and MX2, in mammals. Moreover, bovine MX1 has been found to have alternative splice variants—namely, MX1-a and MX1B. In ruminants, IFN-τ—a type I IFN—is temporarily produced from the conceptus before implantation and induces MX expression in the endometrium. However, the expression dynamics of MX after implantation are not clear. In the present study, we investigated the expression of MX1-a, MX1B and MX2 in the endometrium and placenta before and after implantation along with the expression of IFN-α, type I receptors (IFNAR1 and IFNAR2) and interferon regulatory factors (IRF3 and IRF9). Pregnant uterine samples were divided into five groups according to pregnancy days 14–18, 25–40, 50–70, 80–100, and 130–150. Tissue samples were collected from the intercaruncular endometrium (IC), caruncular endometrium (C) and fetal placenta (P). Although all the MX expressions were significantly higher in the IC and C at days 14–18, presumably caused by embryo-secreted IFN-τ stimulation, their expressions were also detectable in the IC, C and P after implantation. Furthermore, IFN-α expression was significantly higher in the IC. RT-PCR indicated IFNAR1, IFNAR2, IRF3 and IRF9 mRNA in all the tissues during pregnancy. These results suggest that all the MX genes are affected by the type I IFN pathway during pregnancy and are involved in an immune response to protect the mother and fetus.     

Changes in the expression of toll-like receptor mRNAs during follicular growth and in response to lipopolysaccharide in the ovarian follicles of laying hens

The aim of this study was to determine the changes in the mRNA expression of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in hen ovarian follicles during follicular growth and in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). White follicles and the fifth largest to largest follicles (WF and F(5)-F(1), respectively) were collected from laying hens. To examine the effects of LPS, the laying hens were treated intravenously with LPS (1 mg/kg BW) 0, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h before examination. Expressions of TLRs and IL-1beta in the theca and granulosa layers were examined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Immunocytochemistry was performed to identify immunoreactive TLR-4. The theca layer expressed TLR-2, TLR-4, TLR-5 and TLR-7, whereas the granulosa layer expressed only TLR-4 and TLR-5. The expression of TLR-4 and TLR-5 in the theca layer increased significantly during follicular growth. In the granulosa layer, the expression of TLR-5 increased, but that of TLR-4 was unchanged. Expression of TLR-4 increased significantly during the period of 6 to 12 h of LPS treatment in the theca layer and during the period of 12 to 24 h in the granulosa layer of F(3). Immunoreaction products for TLR-4 were observed in theca interna and granulosa layers of WF and F(5)-F(1), with the greater amount observed in the theca interna. LPS treatment significantly increased expression of IL-1beta in the theca layer after 3 h and in the granulosa layer during the period of 12 to 24 h. These results suggest that TLRs are expressed in ovarian follicles and that TLR-4 and TLR-5 expression increase with the growth of follicles. Enhanced expression of TLR-4 and IL-1beta by LPS in the theca and granulosa layers suggests possible roles of TLR in recognition of microorganisms.     

Somatic cell and innate immune responses in mammary glands of lactating cows to intramammary infusion of Bifidobacterium breve at pre-drying off period

Intramammary infusion of Bifidobacterium breve (B. breve)-induced somatic cell (SC) counts, chemiluminescent response (CL), lactoferrin (LF) concentrations and mastitis-causing pathogens from quarters with subclinical mastitis were measured to evaluate innate immune response of mammary glands in dairy cows at 3 to 4 weeks before drying off. SC counts in 7 quarters of 7 control cows and 5 quarters of 6 cows with mastitis increased markedly on day 1 and SC values in control cows were significantly (P<0.05) increased and returned to pre-infusion levels on day 5 after B. breve-infusion. CL values in both groups increased markedly on day 1 and then decreased after B. breve-infusion; however, CL values in cows with mastitis did not return to normal levels on day 5 and at postpartum. The CL values were highly correlated with their SC counts in milk from both groups. LF concentrations increased toward day 3 after B. breve-infusion and were higher in cows with mastitis. B. breve-infusion eliminated 16.6% (1/6) of pathogens from 6 quarters with chronic subclinical mastitis. B. breve-induced SC responses in quarters from 3 cows with mastitis showed characteristic patterns of recovery, persistent and new infections. B. breve-induced SC counts in quarters from the cows in the pre-drying off were lower (25.7–70.6%) than those of the cows in mid-lactation. The intrinsic innate immune response in cows on pre-drying off may be decreased and appears to be insufficient to eliminate pathogens from mammary gland in the pre-drying off.     

Ceramide aminoethylphosphonate from jumbo flying squid Dosidicus gigas attenuates the toxicity of cyanotoxin microcystin-LR

We have previously established the method for isolation of ceramide aminoethylphosphonate (CAEP) from jumbo flying squid Dosidicus gigas. In this study, we performed a MTT assay to evaluate the safety of CAEP to the cell lines for the application to health food and supplements. The CAEP did not show any cytotoxicity to various HEK293-transfectant cells. Next, we elucidated the positive function of CAEP to the somatic cells. Recently, we have reported that hepatotoxin microcystin-LR was taken up into the hepatocytes mediated by hepatocellular uptake transporters OATP1B1 and OATP1B3, and the cells were induced cytotoxicity subsequently. Cytotoxicity of microcystin-LR to permanently OATP1B3-expressing HEK293-OATP1B3 cells rather than to HEK293-OATP1B1 cells was preferentially attenuated by CAEP in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, the enzyme activity of serine/threonine phosphatase, which was inhibited by microcystin-LR, was recuperated by co-exposure to CAEP. Furthermore, microcystin-LR-induced cellular protein phosphorylation were disrupted by CAEP exposure. These results suggested that CAEP is a promising remedy and/or preventive medicine for liver damage with microcystin-LR.     

Proposal for stock-recruitment relationship for Japanese sardine <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sardinops melanostictus</Emphasis> in North-Western Pacific

ABSTRACT:   This study assessed the stock-recruitment relationship (SRR) for the Japanese sardine Sardinops melanostictus in the North-western Pacific. Of the 20 SRR models investigated, the Akaike information criterion (AIC) was the minimum (AIC = 551.2) when the data were separated into two groups (A and B) and the log-normal distribution was applied as the error term. Group A was constructed with SRR data from 1976–1987 and 1992–2004. Group B consisted of data from 1988–1991. The AIC minimum model was R  = 22.8 S  ×  e ^ε for Group A, where R , S , and ε denote the recruitment of sardine (individual number of 0-year old fish), spawning stock biomass (SSB), and error term, respectively. This model indicated that recruitment was proportional to the SSB and that no density-dependent effect operated over the range of SSB investigated (51 000–11.3 million t). Recruitment was markedly higher (lower) when the sea surface temperature (SST) of the Kuroshio Extension area in February was low (high). The essential SRR can simply be expressed as R  = 22.8 S  ×  e ^ε with the level of recruitment deviating from the model to a greater or lesser degree depending on the environmental conditions.