Abstract
We evaluated whether castration affects bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) level and the expression of its signaling molecules in Korean cattle bulls. We also checked whether castration affects the expression of muscle fiber type and oxidative and glycolytic enzyme genes. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays revealed that steers had higher plasma BMP2 and leptin concentrations than bulls. Quantitative real-time PCR showed that steers had higher mRNA levels of the lysyl oxidase gene, a downstream target of the BMP signaling pathway, in the longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle. Steers had higher adipogenic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma and lipogenic fatty acid binding protein 4 mRNA levels in the LT than bulls. Steers had lower mRNA levels for several muscle fiber type 1 genes and fiber type 2A myosin heavy chain 2 gene than bulls. Steers had higher mRNA levels of the glycolytic enzyme phosphoglycerate kinase 1 gene than bulls. Transcript levels of oxidative enzyme genes did not differ between bulls and steers. Regression analysis revealed a positive association between plasma BMP2 levels and intramuscular fat (IMF) content in the steer group. These findings suggest that upregulation of the BMP signaling pathway in response to castration induces increased adipogenic gene expression, contributing to the increased IMF deposition observed in castrated animals.
Highlights
We evaluated whether castration affects bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) level and the expression of its signaling molecules in Korean cattle bulls
The bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathway is thought to be required for the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into the adipocyte lineage based on cell culture studies[10,11,12]
Our findings suggest that upregulation of the BMP signaling pathway in response to castration induces increased adipogenic gene expression in bulls, contributing to the increased intramuscular fat (IMF) content observed in castrated animals
Summary
We evaluated whether castration affects bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) level and the expression of its signaling molecules in Korean cattle bulls. Quantitative real-time PCR showed that steers had higher mRNA levels of the lysyl oxidase gene, a downstream target of the BMP signaling pathway, in the longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle. Regression analysis revealed a positive association between plasma BMP2 levels and intramuscular fat (IMF) content in the steer group. These findings suggest that upregulation of the BMP signaling pathway in response to castration induces increased adipogenic gene expression, contributing to the increased IMF deposition observed in castrated animals. We evaluated whether castration of bulls affects the expression levels of muscle fiber type and metabolism-related genes
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