EFFECT OF ADAPTATION STRESS ON BLOOD INDICES OF LIMOUSINE COWS**

Abstract: The aim of research was to assess glucose (Glu), fibrinogen (Fb) and hematocrit (Ht) in the whole blood samples, while cortisol (Cort), haptoglobin (Hp), serum amyloid A (SAA), total protein (TPt) and concentrations of protein fractions (albumins, globulins) in blood serum to monitor adaptation stress in beef cows of Limousine breed. Three groups of cows, each consisting of 8 animals shortly after parturition, were studied simultaneously after different time of adaptation to the new herd (Group I- 1 week, Group II- 3 weeks, Group III- 1 year). Group III animals were perceived as already adapted to the herd environment. Limousine cows with the shortest time of stay in the new herd characterised with elevated concentrations of Glu (P<0.01), Cort, SAA and β-globulin fraction while concentration of γ-globulins was significantly lowered (P≤0.05). These indices may be related to adaptation stress lasting ca 1 week. The most sensitive response of animals to adaptation stress lasting 1 week was exhibited in elevated Glu values. Cows with 3 weeks elapsed time from relocation exhibited only elevated Ht and SAA values. Key words: beef cattle, adaptation stress, blood indice

Inherited Variants in BLM and the Risk and Clinical Characteristics of Breast Cancer

Bloom Syndrome is a rare recessive disease which includes a susceptibility to various cancers. It is caused by homozygous mutations of the BLM gene. To investigate whether heterozygous carriers of a BLM mutation are predisposed to breast cancer, we sequenced BLM in 617 patients from Polish families with a strong family history of breast cancer. We detected a founder mutation (c.1642C>T, p.Gln548Ter) in 3 of the 617 breast cancer patients (0.49%) who were sequenced. Then, we genotyped 14,804 unselected breast cancer cases and 4698 cancer-free women for the founder mutation. It was identified in 82 of 14,804 (0.55%) unselected cases and in 26 of 4698 (0.55%) controls (OR = 1.0; 95%CI 0.6–1.6). Clinical characteristics of breast cancers in the BLM mutation carriers and non-carriers were similar. Loss of the wild-type BLM allele was not detected in cancers from the BLM mutation carriers. No cancer type was more common in the relatives of mutation carriers compared to relatives of non-carriers. The BLM founder mutation p.Gln548Ter, which in a homozygous state is a cause of Bloom syndrome, does not appear to predispose to breast cancer in a heterozygous state. The finding casts doubt on the designation of BLM as an autosomal dominant breast cancer susceptibility gene