Effect of bilateral cecal ligation on use of dietary energy in growing chickens

In order to determine the role of the cecum on energy use in growing chickens, metabolizability of the dietary energy and energy expenditure were examined in the week following bilateral ligation and washing out of the cecum. Apparent metabolizable energy (AME) values were 14.30 and 13.69 kJ/g air‐dry matter for sham‐operated and cecally ligated chickens, respectively. These values were found to be significantly different (P < 0.05). Although AME intake and fasting heat production were decreased by cecal ligation, the distribution of AME (measured as fasting and feeding heat production, as well as heat increment and energy retention, as a proportion of AME intake) was not affected. These results suggest that the cecum helps chickens extract AME from corn‐soybean type diets with little, if any, effect on AME use, based on the present study of growing chickens in the week following cecal ligation.     

Paired box 7 inhibits differentiation in 3T3‐L1 preadipocytes

Myogenesis is precisely proceeded by myogenic regulatory factors. Myogenic stem cells are activated, proliferated and fused into a multinuclear myofiber. Pax7, paired box 7, one of the earliest markers during myogenesis. It has been reported that Pax7 regulates the muscle marker genes, Myf5 and MyoD toward differentiation. The possible roles of Pax7 in myogenic cells have been well researched. However, it has not yet been clarified if Pax7 itself is able to induce myogenic fate in nonmyogenic lineage cells. In this study, we performed experiments using stably expressed Pax7 in 3T3‐L1 preadipocytes to elucidate if Pax7 inhibits adipogenesis. We found that Pax7 represses adipogenic markers and prevents differentiation. These cells showed decreased expression of PDGFRα, PPARγ and Fabp4 and inhibited forming lipid droplets.     

Dehydroeffusol Rescues Amyloid β25–35-Induced Spatial Working Memory Deficit

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Amyloid β (Aβ) peptides produced from the amyloid precursor protein, a transmembrane protein, are neurotoxic and blocking the neurotoxicity may lead to...     

Physiological difference between free and triglyceride-type conjugated linoleic acid on the immune function of C57BL/6N mice

Previous studies have shown the physiological significance of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in various experimental animals and in human beings. One of the important problems to better elucidate is the difference between triglyceride (TG) and free (FFA) dietary CLA. Here, using splenocytes, this study assesses how TG- and FFA-CLA modulate immunoglobulin and various cytokine productions. In this study, C57BL/6N mice were fed an experimental diet containing 0% CLA, 0.1 or 1% FFA-CLA, or 0.1 or 1% TG-CLA for 3 weeks. The production of immunoglobulin tended to be up-regulated by 1% FFA-CLA. As a result of protein array analysis using the supernatant from splenocytes cultured with no CLA, 1% FFA-CLA, and TG-CLA, some cytokine production was shown to be remarkably regulated by dietary FFA- and TG-CLA. A total of 32 cytokines were examined, and 11-14 produced cytokines that were 2-fold up-regulated as compared with control for FFA- or TG-CLA, respectively. Especially, the production of IL-9 and MCP-5 and other cytokines was remarkably up-regulated by both FFA- and TG-CLA. In addition, seven cytokines were 2-fold down-regulated by TG-CLA. These data show that there is a slight but significant difference between the functionalities of FFA- and TG-CLA.     

Correlation between skeletal muscle fiber type and free amino acid levels in Japanese Black steers

Free amino acids are important components of tastants and flavor precursors in meat. To clarify the correlation between muscle fiber type and free amino acids, we determined the concentrations of various free amino acids and dipeptides in samples of different muscle tissues (n = 21), collected from 26‐month‐old Japanese Black steers (n = 3) at 2 days postmortem. The proportions of the myosin heavy chain (MyHC), slow (MyHC1) and fast (MyHC2) isoforms were determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE). The contents of free amino acids and dipeptides were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The MyHC isoform composition varied among the tissue samples. The MyHC1 proportion ranged from 6.9% ± 3.9% to 83.3% ± 16.7%. We confirmed that there was a strong positive correlation between MyHC1 composition and total free amino acid concentrations, including those for two dipeptides. Among the 31 measured free amino acids and dipeptides, 11 showed significant positive correlations and five showed significant negative correlations with MyHC1 composition. These results suggest that a high MyHC1 content induces high free amino acid contents in bovine muscles possibly because of greater oxidative metabolism. This high level of free amino acids could contribute to the intense flavor of meat that is rich in slow‐twitch fibers.     

Changes in some physical properties of soils in the chronosequence of self-overgrown dumps of the Sokolov quarry-dump complex,Czechia

The water-physical properties (bulk density, air conductivity, texture, water content, and temperature dynamics) were studied in a chronosequence of soils developing on self-overgrowing quarry-dump complexes in the area of Sokolov, Czechia. The area overgrown for 12 years was covered by a thin grass cover; osiers were observed after 20 years of overgrowth; a broadleaved forest was found on a plot after 45 years of overgrowth. The particle-size distribution in the soil was determined using peptization by pyrophosphate and the FAO method. When the soil was prepared by the FAO method, a predominance of physical clay (62–72%) in the dump material was revealed; at the use of pyrophosphate peptization, the content of this fraction was lower (18–19%). The observed differences can be due to the incomplete degradation of the microaggregates composed of clay particles during the peptization by pyrophosphate. A decrease in the field water content of the soils with the increasing time of the dump’s overgrowth was observed. This could be attributed to the more significant evapotranspiration of the perennial woody vegetation compared to the herbaceous plants, which agreed with the data on the projective cover of plants and their root biomass. A decrease in the soil temperature in the root-inhabited layer (in the diurnal variation) with the age of succession was also observed. The analysis of the data on the field soil water content and their comparison with the results of the laboratory measuring of the wilting points indicated that the development of plants could be restricted by a water deficit at the 20- and 45-year-old stages of the succession.     

Enlargement of individual cellulose microfibrils in transgenic poplars overexpressing xyloglucanase

Holocellulose samples prepared from transgenic poplars overexpressing xyloglucanase had crystal widths of 3.2–3.5 nm as a result of the (2 0 0) plane, based on their X-ray diffraction patterns, and crystal widths were greater than those of the wild type (3.0 nm). Cellulose microfibril widths in the holocellulose samples were further determined from transmission electron microscopic (TEM) images of individualized fibrils prepared by 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxy radical-mediated oxidation of the holocelluloses and the successive disintegration of the oxidized products in water. The TEM images also supported the finding that cellulose microfibril widths of transgenic poplars were larger than those of the wild type. The cellulose microfibril widths of transgenic poplars were approximately 6 nm, whereas those of the wild type were about 5 nm. However, such enlargement of cellulose microfibril widths could not be explained by the increased cellulose contents of the transgenic poplars alone.     

Time‐coordinated prevalence of extracellular HGF,FGF2 and TGF‐β3 in crush‐injured skeletal muscle

Successful regeneration and remodeling of neuromuscular junctions are critical for restoring functional capacities and properties of skeletal muscle after damage, and axon‐guidance molecules may be involved in the signaling that regulates such restoration. Recently, we found that early‐differentiated satellite cells up‐regulate a secreted neural chemorepellent Sema3A upon in vivo muscle‐crush injury. The study also revealed that Sema3A expression is up‐regulated in primary satellite‐cell cultures in response to hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF2) and is prevented by transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β2, 3. In order to verify the physiological significance of this regulation in vitro, the present study was designed to estimate the time‐course of extracellular HGF, FGF2 and TGF‐β3 concentrations after crush‐injury of Gastrocnemius muscle in the rat lower hind‐limb, using a combination of a non‐homogenization/non‐spin extraction of extracellular wound fluids and enhanced chemiluminescence–Western blotting analyses. Results clearly demonstrated that active HGF and FGF2 are prevalent in 2–8 days post‐crush, whereas active TGF‐β3 increases after 12 days, providing a better understanding of the time‐coordinated levels of HGF, FGF2 and TGF‐β3 that drive regulation of Sema3A expression during regenerative intramuscular moto‐neuritogenesis.     

Satellite cells produce neural chemorepellent semaphorin 3A upon muscle injury

Regenerative mechanisms that regulate intramuscular motor innervation. including configuration of the neuromuscular connections are thought to reside in the spatiotemporal expression of axon‐guidance molecules. Our previous studies proposed a heretofore unexplored role of satellite cells as a key source of a secreted neural chemorepellent semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) expression. In order to verify this concept, there is still a critical need to provide direct evidence to show the up‐regulation of Sema3A protein in satellite cells in vivo upon muscle injury. The present study employed a Sema3A/MyoD double‐immunohistochemical staining for cryo‐sections prepared from cardiotoxin injected gastrocnemius muscle of adult mouse lower hind‐limb. Results clearly demonstrated that Sema3A expression was up‐regulated in myogenic differentiation‐positive satellite cells at 4–12 days post‐injury period, the time that corresponds to the cell differentiation phase characterized by increasing myogenin messenger RNA expression. This direct proof encourages a possible implication of satellite cells in the spatiotemporal regulation of extracellular Sema3A concentrations, which potentially ensures coordinating a delay in neurite sprouting and re‐attachment of motoneuron terminals onto damaged muscle fibers early in muscle regeneration in synchrony with recovery of muscle‐fiber integrity.     

Increase in muscle endurance in mice by dietary Yamabushitake mushroom (Hericium erinaceus) possibly via activation of PPARδ

Skeletal muscle fiber is largely classified into two types: type 1 (slow‐twitch) and type 2 (fast‐twitch) fibers. Meat quality and composition of fiber types are thought to be closely related. Previous research showed that overexpression of constitutively active peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor (PPAR)δ, a nuclear receptor present in skeletal muscle, increased type 1 fibers in mice. In this study, we found that hexane extracts of Yamabushitake mushroom (Hericium erinaceus) showed PPARδ agonistic activity in vitro. Eight‐week‐old C57BL/6J mice were fed a diet supplemented with 5% (w/w) freeze‐dried Yamabushitake mushroom for 24 hr. After the treatment period, the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles were excised. The Yamabushitake‐supplemented diet up‐regulated the PPARδ target genes Pdk4 and Ucp3 in mouse skeletal muscles in vivo. Furthermore, feeding the Yamabushitake‐supplemented diet to mice for 8 weeks resulted in a significant increase in muscle endurance. These results indicate that Yamabushitake mushroom contains PPARδ agonistic ligands and that dietary intake of Yamabushitake mushroom could activate PPARδ in skeletal muscle of mice. Unexpectedly, we observed no significant alterations in composition of muscle fiber types between the mice fed control and Yamabushitake‐supplemented diets.