Caracterização do genótipo mitocondrial de um rebanho da raça bovina Canchim.

A formação da raça bovina Canchim, 5/8 Charolês + 3/8 Zebu, cuja base genética foi ampliada pelo desenvolvimento de três linhagens (antiga, nova e cruzada), buscou aproveitar o vigor híbrido e complementar a alta velocidade de crescimento e boa qualidade de carne do Charolês (Europeu) à adaptação aos trópicos do Zebu. O genótipo mitocondrial (mtDNA) é controlado por herança materna e suas variações podem levar a diferenças fenotípicas para características produtivas. No Canchim, o tipo de mtDNA (Europeu/taurus ou Zebu/indicus) não era conhecido. Neste trabalho, animais da raça Canchim do rebanho da Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste foram caracterizados por meio da genotipagem do mtDNA por PCR alei o-específico. Pela avaliação genealógica, foram determinadas as 173 matriarcas Zebus (62 Indubrasil, 3 Guzerá e 108 Nelore) formadoras da raça e seus 6.749 descendentes. Nos animais com material genético disponível (n=6.404), descendentes de 144 matriarcas, e nos animais vivos em dezembro de 2007 (n=689), descendentes de 107 dessas matriarcas e distribuídos nas três linhagens (25,3% antiga, 45,7% nova e 29,0% cruzada), a freqüência de mtDNA indicus variou de 1,15 a 2,05%. Assim, nesse rebanho Canchim há predominância de animais com mtDNA taurus, apesar de fêmeas Zebus terem sido utilizadas na formação da raça. A caracterização do mtDNA pode ser utilizada para a seleção de animais com o genótipo mitocondrial de interesse. Entretanto, a baixa freqüência de mtDNA indicus não permite a avaliação de efeitos do mtDNA sobre características de produção em Canchim

Clindamycin phospate-zinc acetate versus clindamycin phosphate-zinc acetate + adapalene in the treatment of mild to moderate acne. Results of a multicentre, randomized, retrospective, sponsor-free study

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and the response in patients with mild to moderate acne of a clindamycin phosphate-zinc acetate topical therapy in comparison with clindamycin phosphate-zinc acetate plus adapalene. Methods: Patients with mild to moderate acne were randomized into two groups and treated, respectively, with a gel containing 1 % clindamycin phosphate-0.5% zinc acetate (2 applications/day for 12 weeks) or with the same gel (1 application/day for 12 weeks) plus a gel containing 0.1% adapalene (1 application/day for 12 weeks). No other topical or systemic drugs were allowed, except for a detergent and a sunscreen. Acne severity and treatment efficacy were evaluated by means of the Global Acne Grading System (GAGS). Results: At the end of the study, 63 patients were considered evaluable (29 patients in the group treated with clindamycin-zinc and 34 in the group treated with clindamycin-zinc and adapalene). Significant clinical improvement (maggiore/uguale 50% from baseline) was observed in 12/29 patients (41.4%) in the group treated with clindamycin-zinc and in 22/34 patients (64.7%) in the group treated with clindamycin-zinc and adapalene (p< 0.05). Irritant contact dermatitis was observed in 12 patients (3 in the group treated with clindamycin-zinc and 9 in the group treated with clindamycin-zinc and adapalene); in the latter group, two patients stopped the treatment. Conclusions: On the basis of the results of this study, which is the first one on the activity and tolerability of the association clindamycin-zinc, the latter association is less effective than the association clindamycin-zinc and adapalene

Transmission of Mitochondrial DNA Diseases and Ways to Prevent Them

Recent reports of strong selection of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) during transmission in animal models of mtDNA disease, and of nuclear transfer in both animal models and humans, have important scientific implications. These are directly applicable to the genetic management of mtDNA disease. The risk that a mitochondrial disorder will be transmitted is difficult to estimate due to heteroplasmy—the existence of normal and mutant mtDNA in the same individual, tissue, or cell. In addition, the mtDNA bottleneck during oogenesis frequently results in dramatic and unpredictable inter-generational fluctuations in the proportions of mutant and wild-type mtDNA. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for mtDNA disease enables embryos produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF) to be screened for mtDNA mutations. Embryos determined to be at low risk (i.e., those having low mutant mtDNA load) can be preferentially transferred to the uterus with the aim of initiating unaffected pregnancies. New evidence that some types of deleterious mtDNA mutations are eliminated within a few generations suggests that women undergoing PGD have a reasonable chance of generating embryos with a lower mutant load than their own. While nuclear transfer may become an alternative approach in future, there might be more difficulties, ethical as well as technical. This Review outlines the implications of recent advances for genetic management of these potentially devastating disorders

Multi-omics approach reveals miR-SNPs affecting muscle fatty acids profile in Nelore cattle.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of gene expression, potentially affecting several biological processes, whose function can be altered by sequence variation. Hence, the integration of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and miRNAs can explain individual differences in economic traits. To provide new insights into the effects of SNPs on miRNAs and their related target genes, we carried out a multi-omic analysis to identify SNPs in miRNA mature sequences (miR-SNPs) associated with fatty acid (FA) composition in the Nelore cattle. As a result, we identified 3 miR-SNPs in different miRNAs (bta-miR-2419-3p, bta-miR-193a-2, and bta-miR-1291) significantly associated with FA traits (p-value T, located in the seed sequence of the bta-miR-1291, was associated with different ?6 FAs, polyunsaturated FA, and polyunsaturated:saturated FA ratios. Concerning the other two miR-SNPs, the rs43400521T>C (located in the bta-miR-2419-3p) was associated with C12:0 and C18:1 cis-11 FA, whereas the rs516857374A>G (located in the bta-miR-193a-2) was associated with C18:3 ?6 and ratio of ?6/?3 traits. Additionally, to identify potential biomarkers for FA composition, we described target genes affected by these miR-SNPs at the mRNA or protein level. Our multi-omics analysis outlines the effects of genetic polymorphism on miRNA, and it highlights miR-SNPs and target candidate genes that control beef fatty acid composition.Article 67. Na publicação: Adhemar Zerlotini

Characterization of mitochondrial genotypes in the foundation herd of the Canchim beef cattle breed

The Canchim (5/8 Charolais + 3/8 Zebu) beef cattle breed was developed at Southeast-Embrapa Cattle to take advantage of hybrid vigor and to combine the higher growth rate and beef quality of Charolais with tropical adaptations of Zebu. The development of three lineages (old, new, and crossbred) has increased its genetic basis. The genotypic origin (Bos taurus or Bos indicus) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the Canchim breed was unknown. We characterized the mtDNA genotype of this founder herd by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction. The 173 founder Zebu females (62 Indubrasil, 3 Guzerat, and 108 Nellore) and their 6749 offspring were identified. The frequency of B. indicus mtDNA ranged from 1.15 to 2.05% among the descendants (N = 6404) of each maternal line with available DNA, and among animals that were alive (N = 689) in December 2007 among the three lineages. Though mtDNA characterization can be used to direct animal selection, the low frequency of B. indicus mtDNA impairs the evaluation of its effects on production traits in these animals. The high prevalence of B. taurus mtDNA in Canchim proves that the founder Zebu females from the Indubrasil, Guzerat and Nellore breeds were obtained from crosses of Zebu sires with local B. taurus dams

Is Placental Mitochondrial Function a Regulator that Matches Fetal and Placental Growth to Maternal Nutrient Intake in the Mouse?

Effective fetal growth requires adequate maternal nutrition coupled to active transport of nutrients across the placenta, which, in turn requires ATP. Epidemiological and experimental evidence has shown that impaired maternal nutrition in utero results in an adverse postnatal phenotype for the offspring. Placental mitochondrial function might link maternal food intake to fetal growth since impaired placental ATP production, in response to poor maternal nutrition, could be a pathway linking maternal food intake to reduced fetal growth.We assessed the effects of maternal diet on placental water content, ATP levels and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content in mice at embryonic (E) day 18 (E18). Females maintained on either low- (LPD) or normal- (NPD) protein diets were mated with NPD males.To investigate the possibility of an underlying mitochondrial stress response, we studied cultured human trophoblast cells (BeWos). High throughput imaging showed that amino acid starvation induces changes in mitochondrial morphology that suggest stress-induced mitochondrial hyperfusion. This is a defensive response, believed to increase mitochondrial efficiency, that could underlie the increase in ATP observed in placenta.These findings reinforce the pathophysiological links between maternal diet and conceptus mitochondria, potentially contributing to metabolic programming. The quiet embryo hypothesis proposes that pre-implantation embryo survival is best served by a relatively low level of metabolism. This may extend to post-implantation trophoblast responses to nutrition