The role of microRNA-142a in Toxoplasma gondii infection-induced downregulation of Foxp3: implications for adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Background: Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is capable of infecting nearly all warm-blooded animals and approximately 30% of the global population. Though most infections are subclinical in immunocompetent individuals, congenital contraction can lead to severe consequences such as spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, and a range of cranio-cerebral and/or ocular abnormalities.

A novel mechanism of myostatin regulation by its alternative splicing variant during myogenesis in avian species.

Myostatin (MSTN) is a key negative regulator of muscle growth and development, and an increase of muscle mass is achieved by inhibiting MSTN signaling. In the current study, five alternative splicing isoforms of MSTN mRNAs in avian species were identified in various tissues. Among these five, three truncated forms of myostatin, MSTN-B, -C, and -E created premature stop codons and produced partial MSTN prodomains encoded from exon 1.

Loss of fat with increased adipose triglyceride lipase-mediated lipolysis in adipose tissue during laying stages in quail.

The goal of the current study was to investigate regulation of key genes involved in lipid metabolism in adipose and liver to relate lipolytic and lipogenic capacities with physiological changes at the pre-laying, onset of laying, and actively laying stages of quail. Followed by a 50 % increase from pre-laying to onset of laying, adipose to body weight ratio was significantly reduced by 60 % from the onset of laying to the actively laying stage (P < 0.05), mainly resulting from the significantly increased adipocyte size from the pre-laying stage to the onset of laying and reduction of adipocyte size from the onset of laying to the actively laying stage (P < 0.

Distribution of Escherichia coli F4 adhesion phenotypes in pigs of 15 Chinese and Western breeds and a White DurocxErhualian intercross.

Diarrhoea in newborn and weaned piglets is mainly caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) with fimbriae F4. To investigate the prevalence of resistance to three fimbrial strains, F4ab, F4ac and F4ad, among Chinese indigenous pigs and Western commercial pigs introduced into China, we determined the ETEC F4 adhesion phenotypes in 292 pure-bred piglets from three Western commercial breeds and 12 Chinese indigenous breeds, and a total of 1093 adult pigs in a White DurocxErhualian intercross, by an in vitro microscopic adhesion assay. All the Tibet and Lantang pigs and a majority of the Erhualian and Rongchang pigs were resistant (nonadherent) to ETEC F4 whereas all the Laiwu pigs and most of the Jiangquhai and Tongcheng pigs were susceptible (adhesive) to at least one of the F4 strains.

Quantitative trait loci for porcine baseline erythroid traits at three growth ages in a White Duroc x Erhualian F(2) resource population.

Baseline erythroid indices are increasingly involved as risk factors for common complex diseases in humans. However, little is known about the genetic architecture of baseline erythroid traits in pigs. In this study, hematocrit (Hct), hemoglobin (Hgb), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), red blood cell (RBC), and red cell distribution width (RDW) were measured in 1420 (day 18), 1410 (day 46), and 1033 (day 240) F(2) pigs from a White Duroc x Erhualian intercross resource population.

Polymorphisms of three gene-derived STS on pig chromosome 13q41 are associated with susceptibility to enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli F4ab/ac in pigs.

Neonatal diarrhea caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) F4 is a common and serious disease, resulting in significant economical loss in the pig industry. The locus encoding ETEC F4 receptor has been mapped to pig chromosome (SSC) 13q41, and one of the most significantly linked markers is S0075. In this study, we selected three genes including SLC12A8, MYLK and KPNA1 from a chromosomal region flanking S0075 on SSC13 to develop pig specific sequence tagged sites (STS).