Transcriptome adaptation of the bovine mammary gland to diets rich in unsaturated fatty acids shows greater impact of linseed oil over safflower oil on gene expression and metabolic pathways

Differentially expressed genes implicated in apoptosis of cows in LSO treatment as compared to the same cows on the control diet. Expression direction of several genes predicted to decrease apoptosis. (DOCX 35 kb

Within-Host Dynamics of Multi-Species Infections: Facilitation, Competition and Virulence

Host individuals are often infected with more than one parasite species (parasites defined broadly, to include viruses and bacteria). Yet, research in infection biology is dominated by studies on single-parasite infections. A focus on single-parasite infections is justified if the interactions among parasites are additive, however increasing evidence points to non-additive interactions being the norm. Here we review this evidence and theoretically explore the implications of non-additive interactions between co-infecting parasites. We use classic Lotka-Volterra two-species competition equations to investigate the within-host dynamical consequences of various mixes of competition and facilitation between a pair of co-infecting species. We then consider the implications of these dynamics for the virulence (damage to host) of co-infections and consequent evolution of parasite strategies of exploitation. We find that whereas one-way facilitation poses some increased virulence risk, reciprocal facilitation presents a qualitatively distinct destabilization of within-host dynamics and the greatest risk of severe disease

Treatment and post-treatment effects of dietary supplementation with safflower oil and linseed oil on milk components and blood metabolites of Canadian Holstein cows

The treatment and residual effects of linseed oil (LSO) and safflower oil (SFO) supplementation on milk and blood metabolites of cows was investigated. Twenty-six cows were grouped according to parity and days in milk and assigned equally to one of two treatments: a control diet + 5%SFO or 5%LSO for 28 days (treatment period, TP). The TP was preceded by a control period of 28 days (all animals on control diet). After treatment, animals were returned to control diet for 28 days (posttreatment period, PTP). Blood and milk samples were collected weekly. Feed intake decreased with LSO and SFO (p <.05), while body weight (BW) increased steadily (p <.0001) throughout. Non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) and triacylglyceride (TAG) increased (p <.0001) during treatments. Beta-hydroxybutyric acid increased (p <.0001) with SFO only. Milk urea nitrogen (MUN) and fat decreased (p <.0001) with both supplements. NEFA/MUN and milk fat content returned to control levels one week or three weeks after treatment, respectively. TAG did not return to initial concentrations by the end of PTP. The residual effects of feeding LSO or SFO on the physiology of cows were still active up to three weeks after cessation of treatments

Co-Expression Network Analysis Identifies miRNA–mRNA Networks Potentially Regulating Milk Traits and Blood Metabolites

MicroRNAs (miRNA) regulate mRNA networks to coordinate cellular functions. In this study, we constructed gene co-expression networks to detect miRNA modules (clusters of miRNAs with similar expression patterns) and miRNA&ndash;mRNA pairs associated with blood (triacylglyceride and nonesterified fatty acids) and milk (milk yield, fat, protein, and lactose) components and milk fatty acid traits following dietary supplementation of cows&rsquo; diets with 5% linseed oil (LSO) (n = 6 cows) or 5% safflower oil (SFO) (n = 6 cows) for 28 days. Using miRNA transcriptome data from mammary tissues of cows for co-expression network analysis, we identified three consensus modules: blue, brown, and turquoise, composed of 70, 34, and 86 miRNA members, respectively. The hub miRNAs (miRNAs with the most connections with other miRNAs) were miR-30d, miR-484 and miR-16b for blue, brown, and turquoise modules, respectively. Cell cycle arrest, and p53 signaling and transforming growth factor&ndash;beta (TGF-&beta;) signaling pathways were the common gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways enriched for target genes of the three modules. Protein percent (p = 0.03) correlated with the turquoise module in LSO treatment while protein yield (p = 0.003) and milk yield (p = 7 &times; 10&minus;04) correlated with the turquoise model, protein and milk yields and lactose percent (p &lt; 0.05) correlated with the blue module and fat percent (p = 0.04) correlated with the brown module in SFO treatment. Several fatty acids correlated (p &lt; 0.05) with the blue (CLA:9,11) and brown (C4:0, C12:0, C22:0, C18:1n9c and CLA:10,12) modules in LSO treatment and with the turquoise (C14:0, C18:3n3 and CLA:9,11), blue (C14:0 and C23:0) and brown (C6:0, C16:0, C22:0, C22:6n3 and CLA:10,12) modules in SFO treatment. Correlation of miRNA and mRNA data from the same animals identified the following miRNA&ndash;mRNA pairs: miR-183/RHBDD2 (p = 0.003), miR-484/EIF1AD (p = 0.011) and miR-130a/SBSPON (p = 0.004) with lowest p-values for the blue, brown, and turquoise modules, respectively. Milk yield, protein yield, and protein percentage correlated (p &lt; 0.05) with 28, 31 and 5 miRNA&ndash;mRNA pairs, respectively. Our results suggest that, the blue, brown, and turquoise modules miRNAs, hub miRNAs, miRNA&ndash;mRNA networks, cell cycle arrest GO term, p53 signaling and TGF-&beta; signaling pathways have considerable influence on milk and blood phenotypes following dietary supplementation of dairy cows&rsquo; diets with 5% LSO or 5% SFO

Deep sequencing shows microRNA involvement in bovine mammary gland adaptation to diets supplemented with linseed oil or safflower oil

Bovine milk fat composition is responsive to dietary manipulation providing an avenue to modify the content of fatty acids and especially some specific unsaturated fatty acid (USFA) isomers of benefit to human health. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression but their specific roles in bovine mammary gland lipogenesis are unclear. The objective of this study was to determine the expression pattern of miRNAs following mammary gland adaptation to dietary supplementation with 5 % linseed or safflower oil using next generation RNA-sequencing

Infliximab for the treatment of CNS sarcoidosis

ObjectiveTo describe clinical and imaging responses in neurosarcoidosis to infliximab, a monoclonal antibody against tumor necrosis factor-α.MethodsInvestigators at 6 US centers retrospectively identified patients with CNS sarcoidosis treated with infliximab, including only patients with definite or probable neurosarcoidosis following rigorous exclusion of other causes.ResultsOf 66 patients with CNS sarcoidosis (27 definite, 39 probable) treated with infliximab for a median of 1.5 years, the mean age was 47.5 years at infliximab initiation (SD 11.7, range 24-71 years); 56.1% were female; 62.1% were white, 37.0% African American, and 3% Hispanic. Sarcoidosis was isolated to the CNS in 19.7%. Using infliximab doses ranging from 3 to 7 mg/kg every 4-8 weeks, MRI evidence of a favorable treatment response was observed in 82.1% of patients with imaging follow-up (n = 56), with complete remission of active disease in 51.8% and partial MRI improvement in 30.1%; MRI worsened in 1 patient (1.8%). There was clinical improvement in 77.3% of patients, with complete neurologic recovery in 28.8%, partial improvement in 48.5%, clinical stability in 18.2%, worsening in 3%, and 1 lost to follow-up. In 16 patients in remission when infliximab was discontinued, the disease recurred in 9 (56%), typically in the same neuroanatomic location.ConclusionsMost patients with CNS sarcoidosis treated with infliximab exhibit favorable imaging and clinical treatment responses, including some previously refractory to other immunosuppressive treatments.Classification of evidenceThis study provides Class IV evidence that for patients with CNS sarcoidosis infliximab is associated with favorable imaging and clinical responses