Effects of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol supplementation in maternal diets on reproductive performance and the expression of genes that regulate lactation in sows.

One hundred Yorkshire × Landrace sows were randomly assigned to one of two dietary treatments (diet ND: 6,000 IU vitamin D /d feed; diet 25-D: 200 μg/day 25OHD feed). The experiment began on d 90 of gestation and continued until weaning on day 21 of lactation. In sows that received 25OHD , the growth rate of the piglets before weaning was significantly accelerated (0.

[The effect of microRNAs on the regulatory network of pluripotency in embryonic stem cells].

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells characterized by their ability to self-renew and their pluripotency to differentiate into all cell types. MicroRNA (miRNA) is a small non-coding RNA molecule which can regulate transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene expression, and may also play significant roles in regulating proliferation and differentiation of ESCs. The maintenance of pluripotency in ESCs may involve a regulatory network of many factors and pathways regulated by miRNA, which includes ESCs transcription factors, cell cycle regulation, epigenetic modifications as well as intracelluar signal transduction.

Production of recombinant human lysozyme in the milk of transgenic pigs.

In the swine industry pathogenic infections have a significant negative impact on neonatal survival. Piglets fed with human lysozyme, a natural antibiotic, might be more resistant to gastrointestinal infections. Here we describe the generation of transgenic swine expressing recombinant human lysozyme by somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Effects of chemical activation and season on birth efficiency of cloned pigs.

The effects of chemical activation on birth efficiency of cloned pigs were studied by investigating the developmental process from porcine oocyte activation to birth of cloned pigs. Three different activation methods were used: (i) Electroporation (Ele); (ii) Ele followed by incubation with 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP); and (iii) Ele followed by a treatment with cycloheximide (CHX). In experiment 1, the rates of cleavage, developmental rates and cell number of porcine parthenogenetic (PA) embryos were investigated in the three treatment groups.

Stage-dependent effect of leptin on development of porcine embryos derived from parthenogenetic activation and transgenic somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Accumulating evidence suggests that leptin may play important roles in preimplantation embryonic development, although this remain controversial, and little is known about whether leptin has a stage-dependent regulatory effect on development of porcine embryos derived by parthenogenetic activation (PA) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of addition of leptin to in vitro culture (IVC) medium on development of porcine embryos derived by PA and SCNT. We found that addition of 50 ng/ml human recombinant leptin improved the rate of PA embryos reaching the blastocyst stage and increased the total cell number of blastocysts compared with the control group.

Effects of ghrelin on in vitro development of porcine in vitro fertilized and parthenogenetic embryos.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of addition of ghrelin to in vitro culture medium on preimplantation development of porcine in vitro fertilized and parthenogenetic embryos. In Experiment 1, we sought to compare the in vitro developmental competence of IVF and parthenogenetic embryos. No significant (P<0.