Analysis of the bone morphogenetic protein 6 gene promoter region in young
beef cattle affected by enzootic bovine leukosis |
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Authors: | Masaki MAEZAWA Ken-ichi WATANABE Kotaro MATSUMOTO Yoshiyasu KOBAYASHI Haruko OGAWA Hisashi INOKUMA |
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Affiliation: | 1)Veterinary Medical Center, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan;2)Department of Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan |
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Abstract: | Enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) is typically observed in cattle over 3 years old. However, some cases of EBL onset in young beef cattle have been reported in Japan. The mechanism for early EBL onset is unclear. In Japan, beef cattle are given large amounts of concentrated feed with low vitamin A. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are regulators of cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis, and thought to represent one of the key players in tumor malignancy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the differences in BMP-6 methylation status between EBL beef cattle under 3 years old and other cattle. We investigated the methylation status of the BMP-6 promoter region in 32 EBL beef cattle under 3 years old. We also compared the methylation status of EBL dairy cattle to that of healthy cattle. Median methylation rate of the BMP-6 promoter region in EBL beef cattle under 3 years old was 8.9%, which was significantly higher than that of other groups. Hypermethylation of the BMP-6 promoter region might contribute to early onset of EBL in beef cattle under 3 years old, and animal feeding management practices specific to beef cattle may affect the methylation status of the BMP-6 promoter region. |
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Keywords: | beef cattle bone morphogenetic protein 6 CpG islands early onset enzootic bovine leucosis methylation |
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