Muscle Tissue Types Research Articles

Using an Ultrasound Tissue Phantom Model for Hybrid Training of Deep Learning Models for Shrapnel Detection.

Tissue phantoms are important for medical research to reduce the use of animal or human tissue when testing or troubleshooting new devices or technology. Development of machine-learning detection tools that rely on large ultrasound imaging data sets can potentially be streamlined with high quality phantoms that closely mimic important features of biological tissue. Here, we demonstrate how an ultrasound-compliant tissue phantom comprised of multiple layers of gelatin to mimic bone, fat, and muscle tissue types can be used for machine-learning training. This tissue phantom has a heterogeneous composition to introduce tissue level complexity and subject variability in the tissue phantom. Various shrapnel types were inserted into the phantom for ultrasound imaging to supplement swine shrapnel image sets captured for applications such as deep learning algorithms. With a previously developed shrapnel detection algorithm, blind swine test image accuracy reached more than 95% accuracy when training was comprised of 75% tissue phantom images, with the rest being swine images. For comparison, a conventional MobileNetv2 deep learning model was trained with the same training image set and achieved over 90% accuracy in swine predictions. Overall, the tissue phantom demonstrated high performance for developing deep learning models for ultrasound image classification.

Genome-wide DNA methylation profiles provide insight into epigenetic regulation of red and white muscle development in Chinese perch Siniperca chuatsi.

Fish skeletal muscles are composed of spatially well-separated fiber types, namely, red and white muscles with different physiological functions and metabolism. To compare the DNA methylation profiles of the two types of muscle tissues and identify potential candidate genes for the muscle growth and development under epigenetic regulation, genome-wide DNA methylation of the red and white muscle in Chinese perch Siniperca chuatsi were comparatively analyzed using bisulfate sequencing methods. An average of 0.9 billion 150-bp paired-end reads were obtained, of which 86% were uniquely mapped to the genome. Methylation mostly occurred at CG sites at a ratio of 94.43% in the red muscle and 93.16% in the white muscle. The mean methylation levels at C-sites were 5.95% in red muscle and 5.83% in white muscle, whereas the mean methylation levels of CG, CHG, and CHH were 73.23%, 0.62%, and 0.67% in red muscle, and 71.01%, 0.62%, and 0.67% in white muscle, respectively. A total of 4192 differentially methylated genes (DMGs) were identified significantly enriched in cell signaling pathways related to skeletal muscle differentiation and growth. Various muscle-related genes, including myosin gene isoforms and regulatory factors, are differentially methylated in the promoter region between the red and white muscles. Further analysis of the transcriptional expression of these genes showed that the muscle regulatory factors (myf5, myog, pax3, pax7, and twitst2) and myosin genes (myh10, myh16, myo18a, myo7a, myo9a, and myl3) were differentially expressed between the two kinds of muscles, consistent with the DNA methylation analysis results. ELISA assays confirmed that the level of 5mC in red muscle was significantly higher than in white muscle (P<0.05). The RT-qPCR assays revealed that the expression levels of the three DNA methylation transferase (dnmt) subtypes, dnmt1, dnmt3ab, and dnmt3bb1, were significantly higher in red muscle than in white muscle. The higher DNA methylation levels in the red muscle may result from higher DNA methylation transferase expression in the red muscles. Thus, this study might provide a theoretical foundation to better understand epigenetic regulation in the growth and development of red and white muscles in animals, at least in Chinese perch fish.

Joint total variation-based reconstruction of multiparametric magnetic resonance images for mapping tissue types.

Multispectral analysis of coregistered multiparametric magnetic resonance (MR) images provides a powerful method for tissue phenotyping and segmentation. Acquisition of a sufficiently varied set of multicontrast MR images and parameter maps to objectively define multiple normal and pathologic tissue types can require long scan times. Accelerated MRI on clinical scanners with multichannel receivers exploits techniques such as parallel imaging, while accelerated preclinical MRI scanning must rely on alternate approaches. In this work, tumor-bearing mice were imaged at 7T to acquire k-space data corresponding to a series of images with varying T1-, T2- and T2*-weighting. A joint reconstruction framework is proposed to reconstruct a series of T1-weighted images and corresponding T1 maps simultaneously from undersampled Cartesian k-space data. The ambiguity introduced by undersampling was resolved by using model-based constraints and structural information from a reference fully sampled image as the joint total variation prior. This process was repeated to reconstruct T2-weighted and T2*-weighted images and corresponding maps of T2 and T2* from undersampled Cartesian k-space data. Validation of the reconstructed images and parameter maps was carried out by computing tissue-type maps, as well as maps of the proton density fat fraction (PDFF), proton density water fraction (PDwF), fat relaxation rate ( and water relaxation rate ( from the reconstructed data, and comparing them with ground truth (GT) equivalents. Tissue-type maps computed using 18% k-space data were visually similar to GT tissue-type maps, with dice coefficients ranging from 0.43 to 0.73 for tumor, fluid adipose and muscle tissue types. The mean T1 and T2 values within each tissue type computed using only 18% k-space data were within 8%-10% of the GT values from fully sampled data. The PDFF and PDwF maps computed using 27% k-space data were within 3%-15% of GT values and showed good agreement with the expected values for the four tissue types.

Deletion of BK channels decreased skeletal and cardiac muscle function but increased smooth muscle contraction in rats

Large conductance calcium-activated potassium channel (BK channel) is widely expressed in skeletal muscle, myocardium, smooth muscle and other muscle tissues. Mutation, abnormal expression and altered activity of BK channel are linked to muscle-related diseases such as dyskinesia, epilepsy and erectile dysfunction. In order to compare the effects of BK channel on different muscle tissues, we constructed BK channel gene knockout rats‌‌‌‌‍‍‍ (BK-/- rats). HE staining, open field and grip strength tests, ultrasound, blood pressure measurement and vascular tension test were utilized to explore the effects of BK channel deletion on the structure and function changes in skeletal muscle, myocardium, and vascular smooth muscle (VSM). It was found that compared with wild-type rats, the BK-/- rats showed decreased skeletal muscle fiber area, grip, movement distance and speed at 2 and 12 months of ages. At heart, the muscle fiber area, cardiac systolic/diastolic function and heart rate decreased in BK-/- rats. The wall of the left ventricle became thin. However, the vascular wall of BK-/- rats thickened, the pulse wave velocity was increased, and the VSM contraction was enhanced. Unexpectedly, both systolic and diastolic blood pressure were reduced in BK-/- rats, while pulse pressure difference was increased. These results suggest that BK channel may have different effects on different types of muscle tissue, and it should be noted that different parts of muscle tissue may have different effects when BK channel-related drugs are used.

Cholinesterase in different types of the muscle tissue during the early postmortem period for diagnosis of death coming

The purpose of the research: consisted in study of postmortem regularities in the content of cholinesterasein different types of muscle tissue (MT) for improving accuracy of determination of the prescriptionof death coming PDC.&#x0D; Materials and methods: The activity/level of cholinesterase was determinedin homogenates of the myocardial (MMH), oesophageal (OMH), diaphragm (DMH) and intercostalmuscles (IMH)within the early PMP (3-13 hours after the coming of death) on 30 human corpses. MTwas sampled in conditions of postmortem biopsy with use of special instruments; MT homogenateswere prepared following the standard technique with subsequent determination of cholinesterase content in MT homogenates.&#x0D; Results and discussion: The analysis of postmortem changes in the content ofcholinesterase in MT depending upon PDC revealed that after 3 hours from the moment of death comingits highest content was in muscles of the oesophagus, the least one being in MT of the intercostal muscles(respectively, (2,717.1±37.1) and (883.5±6.2) U/g, р&lt;0.001). Levels of cholinesterase content in MT ofthe myocardium and diaphragm were rather close, though they differed (respectively, (1,213.8±8.8) and(1,512.8±11.5) U/g, р&lt;0.05), and occupied an intermediate place between the corresponding values of MTof the intercostal muscles and oesophagus.A common pattern for the content of cholinesterase in differenttypes of MT was characterized by a decrease of this content with an increase in PDC terms; besides, thedynamic lines of its changes, that we obtained, became basic ones for substantiating quantitative timedependencies and construction of relevant nomograms for forensic diagnosis of PDC by cholinesterase content in MT.&#x0D; Conclusions: It was proved that the content of cholinesterase in all MT homogenates,which we studied, changed regularly (and nonlinearly), but the initial and final levels of cholinesterasecontent differed depending upon the type of MT. Besides, the dynamics in changes of the content ofcholinesterase within the time period of 3÷13 hours from the moment of death coming differed uponthe type of MT too. Advantages of the technique consist in theintegrity of biochemical examinationof different types of MT and simplicity in interpretation of findings. The application of the nomogramtechnique for assessing PDC by cholinesterase content in MT makes it possible to improve the accuracyof diagnosis for terms of the coming of death up to 60 minutes.&#x0D; Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.20(1) 2021 p.95-100

An integrated approach in gene-expression landscape profiling to identify housekeeping and tissue-specific genes in cattle

Context High-throughput transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) has been widely applied in cattle studies. Public databases such as the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) contain large collections of gene expression data from various cattle tissues that can be used in gene expression analysis research Aims This study was conducted to investigate patterns of transcriptome variation across tissues of cattle through large-scale identification of housekeeping genes (i.e. those crucial to maintaining basic cellular activity) and tissue-specific genes in cattle tissues. Methods Using data available in the NCBI Sequence Read Archive database, we analysed 1377 transcriptome data sequences from 60 bovine tissue types, identified tissue-specific and housekeeping genes, and set up a web-based bovine gene expression analysis tool. Key results We found 101 genes widely expressed in almost all tissue and screened out five housekeeping genes: RPL35A, eIF4A2, GAPDH, IPO5 and PAK2. Focusing on 12 major organs, we found 861 genes specifically expressing in these tissues. Furthermore, 187 significantly differentially expressed genes were found among six types of muscle tissues. All expression data were made available at our new website http://cattleExp.org, which can be freely accessed for future gene expression analyses. Conclusions The housekeeping genes and tissue-specific genes identified will provide more information for researchers studying gene expression in cattle. Implications The web-based cattle gene expression analysis tool will make it easy for researchers to access large public datasets. Users can easily access all publicly available RNA data and upload their own RNA-Seq data.

Nano‐ and Microfabrication for Engineering Native‐Like Muscle Tissues

AbstractMuscle tissues are characterized by highly organized 3D structures consisting of aligned myocytes and nonmyocytes. Several nano‐ and microfabrication technologies are used to engineer native‐like muscle tissues for muscle regeneration, the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and in vitro disease modeling. In this paper, traditional tissue engineering methods and novel nano‐/microfabrication technologies for constructing muscle tissues are reviewed. Focus is given on the effects of nano‐/microfabricated architectures on the alignment of cells. In addition, issues of vascularization and cell–cell interaction in fabricating muscle tissues are discussed. Finally, common challenges of fabricating three types of muscle tissues and specific requirements for each type are reviewed, and perspectives are given for future studies.

The Expanding Earth: Indisputable Evidences of the Gobi Desert

The most striking contrasts that are found on the continents in paleogeographic reconstructions of the end of the Mesozoic era are the occurrence on the place of the disappeared humid subtropics of the largest Gobi Desert in Eurasia with air temperatures falling below 50° from the freezing point and annual precipitation totals at the level of 100 mm. Science does not know the processes that can lead to a cooling of the atmosphere at 70° and other equally radical changes in nature with a stable position of the blocks of the earth’s crust in space. Changes in the environment of this magnitude can only be the result of land moving northward for a distance equal to about half the radius of the Earth. Titanosaurs, described by the remains in the Gobi deposits, had a body volume, which at modern gravity corresponds to a mass of 10 to 30 ton. However, animals with such a mass and such growth could not exist now. To create the necessary pressure in the vessels and provide energy to the body, Mongolian sauropods would need a heart of 2 - 3 m in diameter. Known types of muscle tissue are unable to maintain an elongated neck and head with a mass of more than a ton. The femur bones of four-legged dinosaurs had strength sufficient to move on land only animals weighing no more than 5 - 7 tons. The bones of giant bipedal dinosaurs at a constant gravitational field would have to be subjected to specific loads, several times greater than the bones of modern elephants, which is excluded. The natural conclusion about the action of a lesser gravity in the Mesozoic provides a solution to the mystery of the truly global spread in that era of bipedal mode of movement as the most energy efficient.

Distribution of Metals in Red and White Axial Muscles of Three Fish Species from the Krasnoyarsk Reservoir

The content of metals in fish fillet is an important criterion for food safety and nutritional benefits. Fish fillet is composed of both white and red muscles, but the standard method only detects metal content in white muscle. The true metal content in fish fillet can be underestimated due to this approach. So far, metal content in different types of muscle tissue of freshwater fish remains virtually unstudied. The aim of the present research was to study the metal content in red and white muscles of roach Rutilus rutilus, bream Abramis brama and pike Esox lucius that live in the Krasnoyarsk reservoir. Twenty metals were measured in the dry mass of red and white muscles of three fish species using inductively coupled plasma (ICP-OES) spectrometry. The contents of macronutrients such as K, Ca and Mg were higher in white muscle fibers and Na – in red fibers. Of the 16 metals regarded as trace elements, the highest contents in the muscles were noted for Fe (20.5-177.8 μg/g), Zn (26.7-79.0 μg/g), and Al (15.2- 67.2 μg/g), regardless of the fish species and type of tissue. Li (0.01-0.09 μg/g) and Cd (0.01-0.03 μg/g) had the lowest concentrations. Among trace elements, the contents of Cu and Fe were significantly higher in the dry biomass of red muscle compared with white muscle for the three fish species. The content of Zn was higher in the red muscle of bream and pike. Almost all other trace elements also tended to accumulate in higher concentrations in the red muscle. Differences between red and white muscles in the contents of trace elements such as Pb and Sr were species-specific. The distribution of metals between the two types of muscle fibers demonstrated by the freshwater species examined in this study was similar to the distribution of metals in marine fish, except the distribution of Sr. Thus, the greater capacity of the red muscle for accumulating most heavy metals confirmed in the present study may indicate a greater risk to health in eating this type of tissue

Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter Structure and Function in Different Types of Muscle Tissues in Health and Disease.

Calcium ions (Ca2+) influx to mitochondrial matrix is crucial for the life of a cell. Mitochondrial calcium uniporter (mtCU) is a protein complex which consists of the pore-forming subunit (MCU) and several regulatory subunits. MtCU is the main contributor to inward Ca2+ currents through the inner mitochondrial membrane. Extensive investigations of mtCU involvement into normal and pathological molecular pathways started from the moment of discovery of its molecular components. A crucial role of mtCU in the control of these pathways is now recognized in both health and disease. In particular, impairments of mtCU function have been demonstrated for cardiovascular and skeletal muscle-associated pathologies. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on mtCU structure, regulation, and function in different types of muscle tissues in health and disease.

Fatty acid profiles of the European migratory common noctule bat (Nyctalus noctula).

In animals, fatty acids (FA) are essential as structural components in membranes and for energy storage in adipocytes. Here, we studied the relative proportions of FA in a mammal with extreme changes in metabolic rates. Common noctule bats (Nyctalus noctula) switch from energetically demanding long-distance migration at high metabolic rates to regular torpor with extremely low metabolic rates. We found that composition of FA categories differed between adipose tissue types (white adipose tissue (WAT) vs brown adipose tissue (BAT)) and muscle tissue types (skeletal vs heart), but not between sexes. We found oleic acid to be the most abundant FA in all studied tissues. Concentrations of polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) were not always higher in muscular tissue compared with adipocyte tissue, even though high concentrations of PUFA are considered beneficial for low body temperatures in torpor. In all tissues, we observed a high content in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), possibly to compensate for a low PUFA content in the diet. Ratios of ω6/ω3 were lower in the heart than in skeletal muscles of common noctules. Three FA (palmitic, oleic, and linoleic acid) accounted for about 70% of the FA in adipose tissue, which is similar to proportions observed in migrating birds, yet migrating birds generally have a higher PUFA content in muscle and adipose tissues than bats. Bats seem to contrast with other mammals in having a high MUFA content in all tissues. We conclude that FA profiles of bats differ largely from those of most cursorial mammals and instead are-with the exception of MUFA-similar to those of migrating birds.

Emerging Development of Microfluidics-Based Approaches to Improve Studies of Muscle Cell Migration.

The essential interactions between and among cells in the three types of muscle tissue in development, wound healing, and regeneration of tissues, are underpinned by the ability of cardiac, smooth, and skeletal muscle cells to migrate in maintaining functional capacity after pathologies such as myocardial infarction, tissue grafting, and traumatic and postsurgical injury. Microfluidics-based devices now offer significant enhancement over conventional approaches to studying cell chemotaxis and haptotaxis that are inherent in migration. Advances in experimental approaches to muscle cell movement and tissue formation will contribute to innovations in tissue engineering for patching wound repair and muscle tissue replacement.

A New Method for Investigation of Different Tissues Using Femtosecond Laser Mass Spectrometry.

Femtosecond laser mass spectrometry (FLMS) has become an important tool for investigation of chemical and biological materials in many areas from medical to industrial. In medicine, the morphological examination of tissues is determined by performing pathological investigations under microscope. However, some novel improvements or developments must be performed for much faster diagnosis of the tissue during the operation when patient is under anesthesia. The information obtained from the tissue under the microscope remains very limited because it cannot reveal characteristics of the whole molecules. For this reason, some novel methods for analysis of tissues are important issues to be achieved. This process can be performed using FLMS much quicker than traditional techniques. The aim of this study is to develop a new procedure for interpretation of mass spectra obtained from different types of muscle tissues, such as lamb, bones, and beef obtained from the butcher. The results obtained in this study are believed to open a new window for these kinds of applications for cancer diagnosis on human tissue studies, as a faster analysis technique to give some concrete contributions to pathological examinations. Both, principal component analysis statistical approach and FLMS technique offer a great opportunity to identify the biological materials from mass spectra. In conclusion, this present study interprets a great data from bone, beef, and lamb, which show that we can distinguish these different types of materials using FLMS data and statistical approaches. Eventually, the experimental results obtained from our group studies present that these types of tissues can easily be distinguished using small m/q peaks in the lower region (m/z ≤100 amu) of the mass spectra by courtesy of FLMS.

Cellular protein and mRNA expression of β1 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunit in brain, skeletal muscle and placenta

The β1 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunit is a muscle type subunit of this family and as such, is found predominantly in muscle. Recent reports document its expression in other tissues and cell lines including adrenal glands, carcinomas, lung and brain. However, the majority of studies were of tissue lysates, thus the cellular distribution was not determined. This study aimed to determine the cellular distribution of the β1 nAChR subunit in the brain, at both the mRNA and protein levels, using non-radioactive in situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC), respectively, and to compare it to two muscle tissue types, skeletal and placenta. Tissue was formalin fixed and paraffin embedded (all tissue types) and frozen (placenta) from humans. Additional control tissue from the piglet and mouse brain were also studied, as was mRNA for the α3 nAChR and N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor 1 (NR1) subunit. We found no β1 nAChR subunit mRNA expression in the human and piglet brain despite strong protein expression. Some signal was seen in the mouse brain but considered inconclusive given the probes designed were not of 100% homology to the mouse. In the skeletal muscle and placenta tissues, β1 nAChR subunit mRNA expression was prominent and mirrored protein expression. No α3 nAChR or NR1 mRNA was seen in the skeletal muscle, as expected, although both subunit mRNAs were present in the placenta. This study concludes that further experiments are required to conclusively state that the β1 nAChR subunit is expressed in the human, piglet and mouse brain.

Myriocin treatment affects lipid metabolism in skeletal muscles of rats with streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetes

PurposeThe aim of this work was to assess the effect(s) of de novo ceramide synthesis inhibition on lipid metabolism in skeletal muscle tissue of type 1 diabetic rats. The latter seems to be of vital importance, since previous works have shown its positive influence on lipid metabolism and glucose homeostasis in the case of its counterpart – type 2 diabetes. Materials/methodsThe animals were randomly assigned to one of the following groups: C – control, M – myriocin (ceramide de novo synthesis inhibitor), D – diabetes (induced by streptozotocin injections); D+M – diabetes+myriocin. We have evaluated intracellular concentration of key sphingolipid species, via chromatography (GC and HPLC), and the activity of their most important enzymes, using radiometric approach. The aforementioned assessments were evaluated in respect to the three different types of muscle tissue representing different spectra of muscle metabolism (soleus – oxidative, red gastrocnemious – oxidative-glycolytic, white gastrocnemious – glycolytic). ResultsInterestingly, our therapeutic intervention not only lowered the level of ceramide, its precursors (sphinganine) and derivatives (sphingosine and sphingosine-1-phosphate), but also reduced other lipid species (triacylglycerols, diacylglycerols and free fatty acids) content, thus improving glucose homeostasis in type 1 diabetic animals. ConclusionsIn the light of the results ensuing from this study, it seems conceivable that the reduction of intramuscular ceramide production and accumulation could bestow an insulin-sensitizing effect. If so, then SPT inhibition could find potential future applications as a therapeutic intervention aimed to mitigate the effects of insulin resistance.

Short-term ursolic acid promotes skeletal muscle rejuvenation through enhancing of SIRT1 expression and satellite cells proliferation.

Ursolic acid (UA) is a triterpenoid compound, which exerts its influences on the skeletal muscles. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects are still unclear. In this study, muscle satellite cells were isolated and purified by high-throughput pre-plating method (∼>60%) from 10 days old mice skeletal muscles. Evaluation of paired-box 7 (Pax7) expressions then confirmed the purification. Treatment of the cells with UA showed that UA up-regulated SIRT1 (∼35 folds) and overexpressed PGC-1α (∼175 folds) gene significantly. Moreover, the number of muscle satellite cells, which accompanied by initiation of neomyogenesis in the animal skeletal muscles, was increased (∼3.4 times). We also evaluated UA-mediated changes in the cellular energy status in the skeletal muscles. The results revealed that in the UA-treated mice, ATP and ADP contents in the various skeletal muscle tissue types, including: Gastrocnemius (Gas), Tibialis Anterior (Tib) and Gluteus Maximus (Glu) have been significantly decreased (P≤0.001); 2.2, 3.2, 2 times for ATP, and 9.6, 35.7, 11.6 times for ADP, respectively; however to compensate this process mitochondrial biogenesis occurred (12.33%±1.5 times). Furthermore, a rise in ATP/ADP ratio was observed 2.5, 4.5, 2.05 times for Gas, Tib and Glu muscles, respectively (P≤0.001). Alternatively, UA enhanced the expression of myoglobin (∼2 folds) in concert with remodeling of glycolytic muscle fibers to mainly fast IIA (∼30%) and slow-twitch (∼4%) types as well. Finally, our study indicated that UA indirectly mimicked beneficial effects of short-term calorie restriction and exercise (fast-oxidative) by directing the skeletal muscle composition toward oxidative metabolism.

Bioprinting with pre-cultured cellular constructs towards tissue engineering of hierarchical tissues

The fabrication of physiologically active tissue constructs from various tissue elements are vital for establishing integrated bioprinting and transfer printing techniques as vital tools for biomedical research. Physiologically functional tissues are hierarchically constructed from a variety of tissue subunits with different feature sizes and topographies. For example, skeletal muscles are composed of many muscle bundles, muscle fibers, and muscle cells respectively. The fundamental constituents of all types of muscle tissues include various sized blood vessels, and vascular related cells. Nature has designed the direction of all the aforementioned components to have unidirectional alignment, so that muscle contractions can effectively generate the mechanical functions. In this study, we demonstrate a promising approach to fabricating such hierarchical tissues by applying bioprinting and a transfer patterning technique. Linear-patterned smooth muscle cells were obtained by culturing on the surface patterned discs, before being transferred onto the Matrigel substrate. The fiber-like tissues structures were successfully formed on the substrate after a few days of culturing; these are partially aligned smooth muscle cells. Additionally, stacked structures were also successfully fabricated using laminating printing technique. Our results indicate that bioprinting and transfer printing strategy of pre-cultured aligned muscular fiber-like tissues is very promising method to assemble tissue elements for biofabrication of hierarchical tissues.

Selection of reference genes for gene expression studies related to intramuscular fat deposition in Capra hircus skeletal muscle.

The identification of suitable reference genes is critical for obtaining reliable results from gene expression studies using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) because the expression of reference genes may vary considerably under different experimental conditions. In most cases, however, commonly used reference genes are employed in data normalization without proper validation, which may lead to incorrect data interpretation. Here, we aim to select a set of optimal reference genes for the accurate normalization of gene expression associated with intramuscular fat (IMF) deposition during development. In the present study, eight reference genes (PPIB, HMBS, RPLP0, B2M, YWHAZ, 18S, GAPDH and ACTB) were evaluated by three different algorithms (geNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper) in two types of muscle tissues (longissimus dorsi muscle and biceps femoris muscle) across different developmental stages. All three algorithms gave similar results. PPIB and HMBS were identified as the most stable reference genes, while the commonly used reference genes 18S and GAPDH were the most variably expressed, with expression varying dramatically across different developmental stages. Furthermore, to reveal the crucial role of appropriate reference genes in obtaining a reliable result, analysis of PPARG expression was performed by normalization to the most and the least stable reference genes. The relative expression levels of PPARG normalized to the most stable reference genes greatly differed from those normalized to the least stable one. Therefore, evaluation of reference genes must be performed for a given experimental condition before the reference genes are used. PPIB and HMBS are the optimal reference genes for analysis of gene expression associated with IMF deposition in skeletal muscle during development.

Characterization Of Colorimetric Parameters In Cattle Meat

Color is one of the most important sensory parameters of meat, because for the consumers is the first indicator of its freshness. Color allows detection of anomalies or the presence of defects in the meat. It was found that the equipment and methodology for measuring color is available from the economic point of view and allow the improvement of food products. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the color of muscle tissue from cattle slaughtered in our country by using colorimetric scale CIE L*a*b* . Color values were measured using the Minolta spectrophotometer CM 2600 d, and the samples under study are represented by three types of muscle tissues from five randomly selected cattle from the slaughter technological flow ( Longissimus dorsi thoracis , Longissimus dorsi lumborum , Psoas Minor and Major ) The results obtained from measurements performed on the three muscle areas showed that physical activity performed by live animal have influence over anatomical region of origin of the muscle, and therefore on its color. Thus M.Psoas has the lowest averages of the three features - L* (30,39±0,86), a* (10,73±0,51) E™i b* (11,29±0,91). These results are relevant for determining the quality and safety of meat, bringing support to consumer in choosing a particular type of meat. Also helps to improve pre slaughtering and post slaughtering practices, operations that interact on the biochemical processes taking place in the animal body, and provides sensory physical and chemical characteristics, superior qualitative.

Shared Gene Structures and Clusters of Mutually Exclusive Spliced Exons within the Metazoan Muscle Myosin Heavy Chain Genes

Multicellular animals possess two to three different types of muscle tissues. Striated muscles have considerable ultrastructural similarity and contain a core set of proteins including the muscle myosin heavy chain (Mhc) protein. The ATPase activity of this myosin motor protein largely dictates muscle performance at the molecular level. Two different solutions to adjusting myosin properties to different muscle subtypes have been identified so far: Vertebrates and nematodes contain many independent differentially expressed Mhc genes while arthropods have single Mhc genes with clusters of mutually exclusive spliced exons (MXEs). The availability of hundreds of metazoan genomes now allowed us to study whether the ancient bilateria already contained MXEs, how MXE complexity subsequently evolved, and whether additional scenarios to control contractile properties in different muscles could be proposed, By reconstructing the Mhc genes from 116 metazoans we showed that all intron positions within the motor domain coding regions are conserved in all bilateria analysed. The last common ancestor of the bilateria already contained a cluster of MXEs coding for part of the loop-2 actin-binding sequence. Subsequently the protostomes and later the arthropods gained many further clusters while MXEs got completely lost independently in several branches (vertebrates and nematodes) and species (for example the annelid Helobdella robusta and the salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis). Several bilateria have been found to encode multiple Mhc genes that might all or in part contain clusters of MXEs. Notable examples are a cluster of six tandemly arrayed Mhc genes, of which two contain MXEs, in the owl limpet Lottia gigantea and four Mhc genes with three encoding MXEs in the predatory mite Metaseiulus occidentalis. Our analysis showed that similar solutions to provide different myosin isoforms (multiple genes or clusters of MXEs or both) have independently been developed several times within bilaterian evolution.