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Objective of experiment was to determine whether oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation altered embryonic loss in dairy cows. Blood samples were collected at days 0, 16, 32 and 60 after timed (AI) from 200 Holstein cows to determine embryonic loss based on interferon-stimulated gene-15 (ISG15) mRNA expression (day 16) and ultrasound at day 32 and day 60. Leucocyte expressions of mRNA TLR2, TLR4, TNF-α, IL1B, IL10, STAT3 (inflammation), PTGS2, PTGES (prostaglandin synthesis), and PLA2G4A and ALOX5AP (eicosanoid metabolism) at days 0 and 16 were determined. Plasma redox status for antioxidant enzymatic activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined at days 0, 16, 32 and 60. All antioxidant-redox responses were beneficially significant in pregnant cows diagnosed pregnant at day16 and sustained pregnancy to day 60 compared to non-pregnant cows at day16 or pregnant at day16 and lost embryos by days 32 or 60. The leucocyte mRNA expressions of TLR2, TLR4, STAT 3, IL1B, PTGS2, PLA2G4A and ALOX5AP were greater and PTGES was lower at day16 in pregnant cows that lost embryos early (P

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different dietary levels of L-arginine on the growth performance, blood parameters, and lipogenic gene expression of Arian broiler chickens. For this purpose, 168 Arian broiler chicks (40.33±1.7 g) were assigned to four treatments with three replicates of14 birds each, according to completely randomized design. The experimental treatments consisted of 100, 124, 139, and 154% dietary arginine levels relative to the published requirements of Arian broilers. On 42 d of the experiment, blood samples were collected from two birds (six birds per treatment) for blood metabolite measurements. These birds were then euthanized for carcass evaluation and collection of tissue samples. Increasing dietary arginine levels reduced (p

The aim of this study has been to determine the effects of in vivo post-ovulatory ageing (POA) on the distribution of spindle-associated proteins, histone H3/H4 post-translational modifications and on v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 1 (Akt) expression levels. To this end, oocytes were retrieved 13, 29 and 33 h after human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) treatment. The presence and distribution at the meiotic spindle of acetylated tubulin, γ-tubulin, polo kinase-1 and Ser473/Thr308 phosphorylated Akt (pAkt) as well as histone H3 and H4 acetylation and phosphorylation levels were assayed via immunofluorescence. Akt expression levels were determined via reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction and western blotting analyses. Spindles from oocytes recovered 13 h and 29 h after hCG treatment showed similar levels of acetylated tubulin but ageing induced: (1) translocation of γ-tubulin from spindle poles to microtubules, (2) absence of Thr308- and Ser473-pAkt in 76% and 30% of oocytes, respectively, and (3) a significant reduction in phosphorylation levels of serine 10 on histone 3. At 29 h, a significant decrease in Akt mRNA, but not in pAkt or Akt protein levels, was recorded. By contrast, protein content significantly decreased 33 h after hCG. We conclude that POA impairs oocyte viability and fertilisability by altering the expression levels and spindle distribution of proteins that are implicated in cell survival and chromosome segregation. Together, these events could play a role in oocyte apoptosis.