Abstract
MethodsIn this study, proteomics methods have been used to study the effects of different currents and voltages used to stun chickens. Protein profiles of chicken hearts were constructed to detect differences in protein expression and modification. The different voltages studied were 10 V, 40 V and 70 V, while the currents examined were 0.25 A, 0.5 A, and 0.75 A. The profiles obtained from these stunning conditions were compared to the non-stunned (0 A, 0 V) sample.ResultsProteomics analyses using 2D Platinum ImageMaster 6.0 and Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) identified troponin I and alpha cardiac muscle actin 1 in the electrically stimulated heart samples. The overexpression of the proteins was further confirmed at the transcriptional level by Real Time PCR.ConclusionThe results from MALDI-TOF and Real Time PCR agreed; therefore, this method for identifying biomarkers of electrically stimulated chicken hearts provides a novel approach for differentiation the hearts of increased electrically stimulated chickens from those of non-stunned chickens.
Highlights
Stunning is used to induce unconsciousness in animals prior to exsanguinations and slaughter
We found alpha cardiac muscle actin 1 and troponin I to be elevated in the samples of hearts of chickens stunned by 0.75 A, 70 V
Alpha cardiac muscle actin 1 showed an increase in protein intensity from 0.27 to 0.51 when the current was increased from 0.5 A to 0.75 A
Summary
Stunning is used to induce unconsciousness in animals prior to exsanguinations and slaughter. Standards for stunning may vary from one country to another In certain countries, such as Malaysia, the standard for stunning is minimized because animals must be alive during the slaughtering process to meet the Muslim requirements for food production. A biomarker is a substance found in the blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, or tissues and is often detected in abnormally high amounts in samples from animals with certain diseases or conditions [1]. For many diseases, such as cancer, protein function is altered in the context of key signaling pathways that regulate critical cellular functions, including proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, survival, immunity, metabolism, invasion, and metastasis [2]. Biomarker discovery has been mainly focused on prognosis and diagnosis of a disease, this approach is suitable for other applications, such as identifying altered proteins in chickens during stunning and slaughter
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