Short communication: Supply of methionine during late pregnancy enhances whole-blood innate immune response of Holstein calves partly through changes in mRNA abundance in polymorphonuclear leukocytes

The supply of methionine (Met) in late pregnancy can alter mRNA abundance of genes associated with metabolism and immune response in liver and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) of the neonatal calf. Whether prenatal supply of Met elicits postnatal effects on systemic inflammation and innate immune response of the calf is not well known. We investigated whether enhancing the maternal supply of Met via feeding ethyl-cellulose rumen-protected Met (RPM) was associated with differences in calf innate immune response mRNA abundance in PMN and systemic indicators of inflammation during the first 50 d of life. Calves (n = 14 per maternal diet) born to cows fed RPM at 0.09% of diet dry matter per day (MET) for the last 28 ± 2 d before calving or fed a control diet with no added Met (CON) were used. Blood for biomarker analysis and isolation of PMN for innate immune function assays and mRNA abundance was harvested at birth (before colostrum feeding) and at 7, 21 and 50 d of age. Whole blood was challenged with enteropathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli 0118:H8) and phagocytosis and oxidative burst of neutrophils and monocytes were quantified via flow cytometry. Although concentration of haptoglobin and activity of myeloperoxidase among calves from both maternal groups increased markedly between 0 and 7 d of age followed by a decrease to baseline at d 21 the responses were lower in MET compared with CON calves. Nitric oxide concentration decreased markedly between 0 and 7 d regardless of maternal group but MET calves tended to have lower overall concentrations during the study. In vitro phagocytosis in stimulated neutrophils increased markedly over time in both CON and MET calves but responses were overall greater in MET calves. Oxidative burst in both neutrophils and monocytes increased over time regardless of maternal treatment. The mRNA abundance of lactate dehydrogenase (LDHA) signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and S100 calcium binding protein A8 (S100A8) in PMN was overall greater in MET calves. Overall data suggest that increasing the maternal supply of Met during late pregnancy could affect the neonatal calf inflammatory status and innate immune response. Although changes in mRNA abundance could play a role in coordinating the immune response the exact mechanisms merit further study

Manipulating Phosphorus, Calcium, and Magnesium Utilization by Growing Lambs Using Natural Zeolite (Clinoptilolite)

A total of 24 three-month-old lambs with an average weight of 23 ± 1.5 kg were used in this study and fed a complete diet supplemented with natural zeolite at 1% and 2% of feed weight to evaluate the effect of zeolite on calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), and magnesium (Mg) concentration in tissues (kidney, liver, and muscle), rumen fluid, and blood. Adding zeolite at 2% to the diet resulted in an increase (p < 0.05) in body weight but a depressed feed conversion ratio. Phosphorus digestibility was significantly (p < 0.05) increased with the addition of zeolite while the digestibility of Ca and Mg remained unaffected (p > 0.05). The concentration of Ca, Mg, and P in the liver remained unchanged (p > 0.05) with the addition of zeolite. The addition of zeolite led to a decrease (p < 0.05) in the Ca concentration in the kidney and muscle, whereas the Ca concentration in lambs receiving diets supplemented with 2% zeolite (123.13 and 48.49 µg/g) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than supplementation at 1% (120.13 and 45.66 µg/g, respectively, for kidney and muscle). Furthermore, serum and rumen fluid concentrations of P, Ca, and Mg exhibited no significant differences upon the addition of zeolite to the diet. Conclusively, diet supplementation by zeolite at 2% improves performance and especially P digestibility, which may result in the reduction in minerals in lambs’ waste and consequently a reduction in environmental pollution

Role of insulin and other related hormones in energy metabolism—A review

This review aims to review hormones mechanisms that affect fuel metabolism and are involved in regulation of blood glucose, dealing insulin and glucagon hormones, and includes other related hormones, which increase the blood glucose level: growth hormone, thyroxine, cortisol and adrenaline. However, this review focuses on insulin and glucagon hormones as widely, and on other related hormones as briefly. Insulin plays an important role in a decrease blood glucose concentration in hyperglycemic response to emergencies or stress by an increasing rate of glucose transport into the muscle cell of animals and facilitating glucose utilization and by maintaining normal blood glucose concentrations. Insulin is a hypoglycemic hormone, promoting the storage of metabolites in peripheral stores. While, glucagon is a hyperglycemic hormone, stimulates gluconeogenesis—at the expense of peripheral stores by enhancing the hepatic removal of certain glucose precursors and stimulates lipolysis; however, it has not influence on peripheral protein stores directly. Insulin, glucagon and other related hormones regulate blood glucose concentrations and act on movement of glucose, amino acids and possibly volatile fatty acids between the liver and peripheral tissues directly. In another way, glucagon may be considered catabolic and insulin anabolic. In conclusion, insulin promotes body gain by stimulating protein and fat synthesis, growth hormone increases protein retention and decrease fat deposition. Growth hormone can alter the sensitivity of tissues to insulin. In contrast, catabolic hormones such as glucagon, epinephrine and glucocorticoids are provided for mobilization of energy reserves to allow the animal to deal with adverse situations

Antioxidant status and immune responses of growing camels supplemented a long-acting multi-trace minerals rumen bolus

The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of a long-acting trance mineral rumen bolus supplementation on enzymatic and haematological profiles, antioxidant status and immune responses of growing camels under natural grazing conditions. Fifteen 6-month-old growing male camels were used in a 150-day trial. Animals were individually housed in a shaded pen and randomly assigned to receive 0 (CON), one (TMB1) or two (TMB2) long-acting trance mineral rumen bolus. Blood samples were collected from all camels on days 1, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 to measure enzymatic concentrations in serum, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in plasma and haematological variables in whole blood. Camels were injected intradermally with 0.25 mg phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) on days 90 and 140, and then the cell-mediated immune response to this antigen was measured at 0 and 24 h after injection. Animals were immunised intravenously on days 90 and 105 with 2 ml suspension of sheep red blood cells to measure total antibody titres in serum. Using TMB supplement (1 or 2 boluses) resulted in an increase in the plasma concentration of TAC (p < 0.04) and improvement in immune responses in terms of increased skinfold thickness after 24 h of PHA injection (p < 0.01) and total primary serum antibody titres (p < 0.04). Different levels, sources, and synergistic combinations of trace minerals can be used in further studies to elucidate the most advantageous regarding productive variables, availability and cost for camel industry

Effects of Feeding Different Levels of Sprouted Barley on Fermentation Characteristics, Bacterial Quantification, and Rumen Morphology of Growing Lambs

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of sprouted barley inclusion level on the growth performance, digestibility, volatile fatty acids, bacterial quantification, and rumen morphology of growing lambs. Five dietary treatments with sprouted barley (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%) and nine replicates per dietary treatment were performed on forty-five Awassi lambs (90 days old). The average weight gain, intake, and digestibility of dry and organic matter were recorded. The pH, color, volatile fatty acids, bacterial quantification, and rumen histomorphometry were also determined. The results showed that the average dry and organic matter intake in T2 to T4 and the average weight gain in T4 decreased linearly. In contrast, the digestibility of dry and organic matter by sprouted barley (T2 to T4) was higher. The pH values and rumen color were not affected. Concentrations of formic acid, acetic acid, butyric acid, and the ratio of acetic acid to propionic acid were increased, while lactic acid and total volatile fatty acids were lower in all levels of sprouted barley. In addition, lambs fed T4 had a higher quantification of Anaerovibrio Lipolytica, Butyrivibrio Fibrisolvens, and Streptococcus Bovis quantification. Selenomonas Ruminantium was higher in T1, T2, and T4, whereas Megashpaera Elsdenii was lower in T1 to T3. The rumen histomorphometric was improved by sprouted barley (T2 and T3). Sprouted barley improved digestibility and rumen histomorphometry and increased the concentration of some volatile fatty acids and rumen bacteria but resulted in a decrease in average dry and organic matter intake, which negatively affected weight gain in lambs fed 100 % sprouted barley. Further studies are required to determine the potential effects on growing lambs fed sprouted barley

Manipulating Phosphorus, Calcium, and Magnesium Utilization by Growing Lambs Using Natural Zeolite (Clinoptilolite)

A total of 24 three-month-old lambs with an average weight of 23 ± 1.5 kg were used in this study and fed a complete diet supplemented with natural zeolite at 1% and 2% of feed weight to evaluate the effect of zeolite on calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), and magnesium (Mg) concentration in tissues (kidney, liver, and muscle), rumen fluid, and blood. Adding zeolite at 2% to the diet resulted in an increase (p 0.05) in body weight but a depressed feed conversion ratio. Phosphorus digestibility was significantly (p 0.05) increased with the addition of zeolite while the digestibility of Ca and Mg remained unaffected (p > 0.05). The concentration of Ca, Mg, and P in the liver remained unchanged (p > 0.05) with the addition of zeolite. The addition of zeolite led to a decrease (p 0.05) in the Ca concentration in the kidney and muscle, whereas the Ca concentration in lambs receiving diets supplemented with 2% zeolite (123.13 and 48.49 µg/g) was significantly (p 0.05) higher than supplementation at 1% (120.13 and 45.66 µg/g, respectively, for kidney and muscle). Furthermore, serum and rumen fluid concentrations of P, Ca, and Mg exhibited no significant differences upon the addition of zeolite to the diet. Conclusively, diet supplementation by zeolite at 2% improves performance and especially P digestibility, which may result in the reduction in minerals in lambs’ waste and consequently a reduction in environmental pollution

Regional and Seasonal Variability of Mineral Patterns in Some Organs of Slaughtered One-Humped Camels [<i>Camelus dromedarius</i>] from Saudi Arabia

Camel products are receiving great interest worldwide because of their high functional properties and nutritive values. Therefore, this study was focused on the variation of copper [Cu], zinc [Zn], manganese [Mn], selenium [Se], iron [Fe], iodine [I], and some heavy metals, cobalt [Co], lead [Pb], and cadmium [Cd], in the blood and tissues of slaughtered camels from five regions in Saudi Arabia [SA] during the summer and winter seasons, because environmental factors vary from region to region. Whole blood, meat, liver, rumen fluid, and rumen tissues were collected from the slaughterhouse in each region during the two seasons. Moreover, samples were prepared and analyzed for trace mineral and heavy metal concentrations using ICP-MS. The data were statistically analyzed as part of a complete randomized design and correlation analysis for season and location using SAS. The findings revealed a pattern in the minerals, with Ca being the only mineral that was unrelated to other minerals in the liver. For lead and cadmium, our mean value in liver [0.40 µg/g] was below the limit of the EU standard for cadmium [0.50 µg/g], while in meat and liver, lead contents [1.62 µg/g and 2.57 µg/g, respectively] were above the limit of the EU standard [0.10 and 0.20 µg/g, respectively]. For meat, the significantly highest positive correlations were observed between P and Mg [R2 = 0.928], Fe and Mn [R2 = 0.860], and Co and Mn [R2 = 0.821]. For rumen tissues, P and Mg were highly correlated [R2 = 0.958] as well as Zn and Mg [R2 = 0.857], Zn and P [R2 = 0.836], and Fe and Ca [R2 = 0.802]. As a result, a region and season reflect variations in mineral concentrations in SA during the summer and winter seasons. Further intensive research is needed to investigate the minerals’ biological mechanisms in camels under different environmental conditions

Effects of Short-Term Inhibition of Rho Kinase on Dromedary Camel Oocyte In Vitro Maturation

This is the first report on a biphasic in vitro maturation (IVM) approach with a meiotic inhibitor to improve dromedary camel IVM. Spontaneous meiotic resumption poses a major setback for in vitro matured oocytes. The overall objective of this study was to improve in vitro maturation of dromedary camel oocytes using ROCK inhibitor (Y-27632) in a biphasic IVM to prevent spontaneous meiotic resumption. In the first experiment, we cultured immature cumulus&ndash;oocyte complexes (COCs, n = 375) in a prematuration medium supplemented with ROCK inhibitor (RI) for 2 h, 4 h, 6 h, and 24 h before submission to normal in vitro maturation to complete 28 h. The control was cultured for 28 h in the absence of RI. In the first phase of experiment two, we cultured COCs (n = 480) in the presence or absence (control) of RI for 2 h, 4 h, 6 h, and 24 h, and conducted real-time relative quantitative PCR (qPCR) on selected mRNA transcripts. The same was done in the second phase, but qPCR was done after completion of normal IVM. Assessment of nuclear maturation showed that pre-IVM for 4 h yielded an increase in MII oocyte (54.67% vs. 26.6% of control; p &lt; 0.05). As expected, the same group showed the highest degree (2) of cumulus expansion. In experiment 2, qPCR results showed significantly higher expression of ACTB and BCL2 in the RI group treated for 4 h when compared with the other groups. However, their relative quantification after biphasic IVM did not reveal any significant difference, except for the positive response of BCL2 and BAX/BCL2 ratio after 4 and 6 h biphasic IVM. In conclusion, RI prevents premature oocyte maturation and gave a significantly positive outcome during the 4 h treatment. This finding is a paradigm for future investigation on dromedary camel biphasic IVM and for improving the outcome of IVM in this species

Dietary Grape (Vitis vinifera) Seed Powder and Zn–Gly Chelate Complex for Mitigating Heat Stress in Broiler Chickens: Growth Parameters, Malondialdehyde, Paraoxonase-1, and Antibody Titer

A total of 300 day old broiler chicks (Hubbard) were assigned to 30 floor pens (10 birds per pen) under cyclic heat stress. Three diets including a control, as well as two levels of grape seed powder (GSP) and zinc (OZ) at the rates of 2.5 g/kg GSP + 50 mg/kg OZ and 5 g/kg GSP + 50 mg/kg OZ, were supplied to the broilers for 35 days. According to the results, broiler feed intake improved (p &lt; 0.05) in GSP + OZ groups from 3–5 weeks and on an overall basis compared to the control diet. Body weight increased (p &lt; 0.05) in GSP-5 + OZ-50 during weeks 2–5 and on an overall basis. The findings indicated that feed conversion ratio (FCR) decreased (p &lt; 0.05) during week 5 in broilers supplemented with GSP-5 + OZ-50. The antibody titer (HI) against Newcastle disease (ND) was higher (p &lt; 0.05) in GSP + OZ groups compared to control treatment. The value of malondialdehyde (MDA) decreased (p &lt; 0.05) under GSP + OZ diets compared to control. Moreover, paraoxonase (PON1) was higher (p &lt; 0.05) in GSP + OZ groups compared to untreated broilers. In conclusion, GSP + OZ positively supported growth traits, reduced MDA, and augmented PON1 and HI titer against ND in broilers exposed to heat stress