Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of Immunity-Related Genes and Their Effects on Immunophenotypes in Different Pig Breeds.

Enhancing resistance and tolerance to pathogens remains an important selection objective in the production of livestock animals. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) vary gene expression at the transcriptional level, influencing an individual's immune regulation and susceptibility to diseases. In this study, we investigated the distribution of SNP sites in immune-related genes and their correlations with cell surface markers of immune cells within purebred (Taiwan black, Duroc, Landrace and Yorkshire) and crossbred (Landrace-Yorkshire) pigs.

Docosahexaenoic acid and phosphatidylserine improves the antioxidant activities in vitro and in vivo and cognitive functions of the developing brain.

Fish oil during early postnatal period may modulate the impact of oxidative stress in the developing brain and thus improve memory and cognitive behaviour. This study investigated the impacts of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6, n-3) and/or phosphatidylserine (PS) on antioxidant activities in vitro, and the beneficial effects of feeding with DHA and/or PS on antioxidant activities in brain and liver tissues and on the cognitive functions of the developing brain. Results indicated that DHA and/or PS significantly enhanced antioxidant activities and increased cell viabilities in vitro.

Docosahexaenoic acid and phosphatidylserine supplementations improve antioxidant activities and cognitive functions of the developing brain on pentylenetetrazol-induced seizure model.

Epilepsy provoked by pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) is caused by an abnormal excitatory postsynaptic potential, which results in increased production of reactive oxygen species, and finally reducing cognitive functions. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with DHA and PS, administered either alone or in combination, on oxidative stress and behavioral and cognitive spatial memory in neonatal rats with PTZ-induced epileptic seizure. In this study, rat pups received repetitive doses of PTZ for induction of epileptic seizure and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6, n-3) and phosphatidylserine (PS) were orally administrated alone or together to the PTZ-induced epileptic animals daily for 36 d.

Association of interleukin-10 polymorphisms with cytokines in type 2 diabetic nephropathy.

Objective: Interleukin-10 (IL-10) polymorphic variants are linked with cytokine production and are involved in many chronic inflammatory diseases, including type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We investigated the hypothesis that IL-10 promoter polymorphisms may be associated with cytokine expressions involved in the progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN).

Study Design: A total of 72 Taiwanese subjects were included in this study; along with a control group, patients had a diagnosis of DN lasting ≥2 years, and patients had a diagnosis of T2DM with normal renal functions lasting ≥5 years.

Age-related changes in semen quality characteristics and expectations of reproductive longevity in Duroc boars.

Quadratic fitting was used to regress semen characteristics of 1441 samples consisting of 12-month collection from 58 Duroc boars against animal age varied from 10 to 80 months. Data was divided into two groups of cool (14.0-22.

Geldanamycin inhibits trichostatin A-induced cell death and histone H4 hyperacetylation in COS-7 cells.

As widely believed treating cells with trichostatin A (TSA), an inhibitor of histone deacetylase, results in histone H4 hyperacetylation and cell cycle arrest. This compound is often compared with other potential anticancer drugs in cell cycle, proliferation and differentiation research. Furthermore, geldanamycin (GA), a 90-kDa heat shock protein (HSP90) specific inhibitor, is a well-known potential anticancer agent.