Potential of animal-welfare compliant and sustainably sourced serum from pig slaughter blood.

The animal product most used as a stimulatory additive for cell cultivation is still fetal bovine serum (FBS). Besides the ethical concerns regarding serum collection, the main problems of FBS are batch-to-batch variability and the resulting risk of lower reproducibility, the differences between species, the presence of undefined/unknown components, and the risk of contamination. In contrast, pig blood, which is a by-product of slaughter, is a sufficiently available and sustainable resource with a high degree of standardization in terms of donor age, weight, and genetics.

Transcriptomic Response of Differentiating Porcine Myotubes to Thermal Stress and Donor Piglet Age.

Climate change is a current concern that directly and indirectly affects agriculture, especially the livestock sector. Neonatal piglets have a limited thermoregulatory capacity and are particularly stressed by ambient temperatures outside their optimal physiological range, which has a major impact on their survival rate. In this study, we focused on the effects of thermal stress (35 °C, 39 °C, and 41 °C compared to 37 °C) on differentiating myotubes derived from the satellite cells of , isolated from two different developmental stages of thermolabile 5-day-old (p5) and thermostable 20-day-old piglets (p20).

Effect of muscle fibre types and carnosine levels on the expression of carnosine-related genes in pig skeletal muscle.

It is generally accepted that carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine) content is higher in glycolytic than in oxidative muscle fibres, but the underlying mechanisms responsible for this difference remain to be elucidated. A first study to better understand potential mechanisms involved was undertaken (1) to determine whether differences in the expression of carnosine-related enzymes (CARNS1, CNDP2) and transporters (SLC6A6, SLC15A3, SLC15A4, SLC36A1) exist between oxidative and glycolytic myofibres and (2) to study the effect of carnosine on myoblast proliferative growth and on carnosine-related gene expression in cultured myoblasts isolated from glycolytic and oxidative muscles. Immunohistochemistry analyses were conducted to determine the cellular localization of carnosine-related proteins.

Endocannabinoid administration affects taste preference and the expression of cannabinoid and opioid receptors in the amygdala of early lactating cows.

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of intraperitoneal N-arachidonoylethanolamide (AEA) on taste preference for feed and water, tongue taste receptor signalling (TAS1R2, GNAT3), and endocannabinoid (CNR1, CNR2, GPR55) and opioid (OPRD1, OPRK1, OPRM1, OPRL1) receptors in the amygdala and nucleus accumbens in periparturient cows. We conducted taste preference tests using unaltered, umami-tasting, and sweet-tasting water and feed, before and after calving. After calving, eight cows received AEA injections (3 µg/(kg bodyweight × day), 25 days), whereas eight control (CON) cows received saline injections.

The effects of temperature and donor piglet age on the transcriptomic profile and energy metabolism of myoblasts.

Rapid climate change is associated with frequent extreme heat events and the resulting thermal stress has consequences for the health, welfare, and growth of farm animals. The aim of this study was to characterize the transcriptional changes and the effects on energy metabolism in proliferating porcine myoblasts derived from piglets of different ages, representing differences in thermoregulatory abilities, and cultivated below (35°C) and above (39°C, 41°C) the standard cultivation temperature (37°C). Satellite cells originating from of piglets isolated on days 5 (P5, thermolabile) and 20 (P20, thermostable) of age were used.