Regulatory Effects of 198-bp Structural Variants in the GSTA2 Promoter Region on Adipogenesis in Chickens.

Molecular breeding accelerates animal breeding and improves efficiency by utilizing genetic mutations. Structural variations (SVs), a significant source of genetic mutations, have a greater impact on phenotypic variation than SNPs. Understanding SV functional mechanisms and obtaining precise information are crucial for molecular breeding. In this study, association analysis revealed significant correlations between 198-bp SVs in the GSTA2 promoter region and abdominal fat weight, intramuscular fat content, and subcutaneous fat thickness in chickens. High expression of GSTA2 in adipose tissue was positively correlated with the abdominal fat percentage, and different genotypes of GSTA2 exhibited varied expression patterns in the liver. The 198-bp SVs regulate GSTA2 expression by binding to different transcription factors. Overexpression of GSTA2 promoted preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation, while interference had the opposite effect. Mechanistically, the 198-bp fragment contains binding sites for transcription factors such as C/EBPα that regulate GSTA2 expression and fat synthesis. These SVs are significantly associated with chicken fat traits, positively influencing preadipocyte development by regulating cell proliferation and differentiation. Our work provides compelling evidence for the use of 198-bp SVs in the GSTA2 promoter region as molecular markers for poultry breeding and offers new insights into the pivotal role of the GSTA2 gene in fat generation.

Natural antisense transcript of MYOG regulates development and regeneration in skeletal muscle by shielding the binding sites of MicroRNAs of MYOG mRNA 3'UTR.

Natural antisense transcripts (NATs) are endogenous RNAs opposite to sense transcripts, and they can significantly contribute to regulating various biological processes through multiple epigenetic mechanisms. NATs can affect their sense transcripts to regulate the growth and development of skeletal muscle. Our analysis of third-generation full-length transcriptome sequencing data revealed that NATs represented a significant portion of the lncRNA, accounting for up to 30.19%-33.35%. The expression of NATs correlated with myoblast differentiation, and genes expressing NATs were mainly involved in RNA synthesis, protein transport, and cell cycle. We found a NAT of MYOG (MYOG-NAT) in the data. We found that the MYOG-NAT could promote the differentiation of myoblasts in vitro. Additionally, knockdown of MYOG-NAT in vivo led to muscle fiber atrophy and muscle regeneration retardation. Molecular biology experiments demonstrated that MYOG-NAT enhances the stability of MYOG mRNA by competing with miR-128-2-5p, miR-19a-5p, and miR-19b-5p for binding to MYOG mRNA 3'UTR. These findings suggest that MYOG-NAT plays a critical role in skeletal muscle development and provides insights into the post-transcriptional regulation of NATs.

A 31-bp indel in the 5' UTR region of GNB1L is significantly associated with chicken body weight and carcass traits.

BACKGROUND: G-protein subunit beta 1 like (GNB1L) encodes a G-protein beta-subunit-like polypeptide. Chicken GNB1L is upregulated in the breast muscle of high feed efficiency chickens, and its expression is 1.52-fold that in low feed efficiency chickens. However, no report has described the effects of GNB1L indels on the chicken carcass and growth traits. RESULTS: This study identified a 31-bp indel in the 5' untranslated region (UTR) of GNB1L and elucidated the effect of this gene mutation on the carcass and growth traits in chickens. The 31-bp indel showed a highly significant association with the body weight at 8 different stages and was significantly correlated with daily gains at 0 to 4 weeks and 4 to 8 weeks. Similarly, the mutation was significantly associated with small intestine length, breast width, breast depth and breast muscle weight. Moreover, DD and ID were superior genotypes for chicken growth and carcass traits. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that the 31-bp indel of GNB1L significantly affects chicken body weight and carcass traits and can serve as a candidate molecular marker for chicken genetics and breeding programs.

Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway as an important mediator in muscle and bone crosstalk: A systematic review.

Background: The interaction between muscle and bone is shown to be clinically important but the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. The canonical Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway is reported to be involved in muscle-bone crosstalk, but its detailed function remains unclear. This systematic review aims to investigate and elucidate the role of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathways in muscle-bone crosstalk. Methods: We conducted a literature search on the Web of Science, PubMed, EBSCO and Embase with keywords "Wnt*", "bone*" and "muscle*". A systematic review was completed according to the guideline of preferred reporting items of systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA). Data synthesis included species (human, animal or cell type used), treatments involved, outcome measures and key findings with respect to Wnts. Results: Seventeen papers were published from 2007 to 2021 and were extracted from a total of 1529 search results in the databases of Web of Science (468 papers), PubMed (457 papers), EBSCO (371) and Embase (233). 12 Wnt family members were investigated in the papers, including Wnt1, Wnt2, Wnt2b, Wnt3a, Wnt4, Wnt5a, Wnt8a, Wnt8b, Wnt9a, Wnt10a, Wnt10b and Wnt16. Many studies showed that muscles were able to increase or decrease osteogenesis of bone, while bone increased myogenesis of muscle through Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathways. Wnt3a, Wnt4 and Wnt10b were shown to play important roles in the crosstalk between muscle and bone. Conclusions: Wnt3a, Wnt4 and Wnt10b are found to play important mediatory roles in muscle-bone crosstalk. The role of Wnt4 was mostly found to regulate muscle from the bone side. Whilst the role of Wnt10b during muscle ageing was proposed, current evidence is insufficient to clarify the specific role of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling in the interplay between sarcopenia and osteoporosis. More future studies are required to investigate the exact regulatory roles of Wnts in muscle-bone crosstalk in musculoskeletal disease models such as sarcopenia and osteoporosis. Translational potential of this article: The systematic review provides an extensive overview to reveal the roles of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathways in muscle-bone crosstalk. These results provide novel research directions to further understand the underlying mechanism of sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and their crosstalk, finally helping the future development of new therapeutic interventions.

The effect of physical therapy and mechanical stimulation on dysfunction of lower extremities after total pelvic exenteration in cervical carcinoma patient with rectovesicovaginal fistula induced by radiotherapy: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Total pelvic exenteration is the ultimate solution for rectovesicovaginal fistula caused by radiation therapy, yet total pelvic exenteration frequently causes intraoperative complications and postoperative complications. These complications are responsible for the dysfunction of lower extremities, impaired quality of life, and even the high long-term morbidity rate, thus multidisciplinary cooperation and early intervention for prevention of complications are necessary. Physical therapy was found to reduce the postoperative complications and promote rehabilitation, yet the effect on how physiotherapy prevents and treats complications after total pelvic exenteration and pelvic lymphadenectomy remains unclear. CASE PRESENTATION: A 50-year-old Chinese woman gradually developed perianal and pelvic floor pain and discomfort, right lower limb numbness, and involuntary vaginal discharge owing to recurrence and metastasis of cervical cancer more than half a year ago. Diagnosed as rectovesicovaginal fistula caused by radiation, she received total pelvic exenteration and subsequently developed severe lower limb edema, swelling pain, obturator nerve injury, and motor dysfunction. The patient was referred to a physiotherapist who performed rehabilitation evaluation and found edema in both lower extremities, right inguinal region pain (numeric pain rate scale 5/10), decreased temperature sensation and light touch in the medial thigh of the right lower limb, decreased right hip adductor muscle strength (manual muscle test 1/5) and right hip flexor muscle strength (manual muscle test 1/5), inability actively to adduct and flex the right hip with knee extension, low de Morton mobility Index score (0/100), and low Modified Barthel Index score (35/100). Routine physiotherapy was performed in 2 weeks, including therapeutic exercises, mechanical stimulation and electrical stimulation as well as manual therapy. The outcomes showed that physiotherapy significantly reduced lower limb pain and swelling, and improved hip range of motion, motor function, and activities of daily living, but still did not prevent thrombosis. CONCLUSION: Standardized physical therapy demonstrates the effect on postoperative complications after total pelvic exenteration and pelvic lymphadenectomy. This supports the necessity of multidisciplinary cooperation and early physiotherapy intervention. Further research is needed to determine the causes of thrombosis after standardized intervention, and more randomized controlled trials are needed to investigate the efficacy of physical therapy after total pelvic exenteration.

Effects of physical exercise on neuromuscular junction degeneration during ageing: A systematic review.

The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is a specialized chemical synapse that converts neural impulses into muscle action. Age-associated NMJ degeneration, which involves nerve terminal and postsynaptic decline, denervation, and loss of motor units, significantly contributes to muscle weakness and dysfunction. Although physical training has been shown to make substantial modifications in NMJ of both young and aged animals, the results are often influenced by methodological variables in existing studies. Moreover, there is still lack of strong consensus on the specific effects of exercise on improving the morphology and function of the ageing NMJ. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review to elucidate the effects of exercise training on NMJ compartments in the elderly. We conducted a systematic review using PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases, employing relevant keywords. Two independent reviewers selected studies that detailed NMJ changes during exercise in ageing, written in English, and available in full text. In total, 20 papers were included. We examined the altered adaptation of the NMJ to exercise, focusing on presynaptic and postsynaptic structures and myofibers in older animals or humans. Our findings indicated that aged NMJs exhibited different adaptive responses to physical exercise compared to younger counterparts. Endurance training, compared with resistance and voluntary exercise regimens, was found to have a more pronounced effect on NMJ structural remodeling, particularly in fast twitch muscle fibers. Physical exercise was observed to promote the formation and maintenance of acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clusters by increasing the recombinant docking protein 7 (Dok7) expression and stabilizing Agrin and lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 (LRP4). These insights suggest that research on exercise-related therapies could potentially attenuate the progression of neuromuscular degeneration. Translational potential of this article: This systematic review provides a detailed overview of the effects of different types of physical exercise on improving NMJ in the elderly, providing scientific support for the timely intervention of muscle degeneration in the elderly by physical exercise, and providing help for the development of new therapeutic interventions in the future.

Identification of candidate genes associated with skin yellowness in yellow chickens.

The yellow color of the skin is an important economic trait for yellow chickens. Low and non-uniform skin yellowness would reduce economic efficiency. However, the regulatory mechanism of chicken skin yellowness has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we evaluated the skin yellowness of 819 chickens by colorimeter and digital camera, which are from the same batch and the same age of 2 pure lines with significant differences in skin yellowness. A total of 982 candidate differential expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in duodenal tissue by RNA-seq analysis for high and low yellowness chickens. Among the DEGs, we chose fatty acid translocase (CD36) gene and identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) upstream of the CD36 gene that was significantly associated with skin yellowness at multiple parts of the chicken, and its different genotypes had significant effects on the promoter activity of the CD36 gene. These findings will help to further elucidate the molecular mechanism of chicken skin yellowness and is helpful for improving chicken skin yellowness.

Shoulder vibratory exercises improves shoulder external rotation muscle strength and shoulder function: Randomized comparison trial.

BACKGROUND: Based on electromyography measurements, shoulder vibratory exercises efficiently stimulate shoulder muscles activity. Yet very few studies have supported that shoulder vibratory exercises increased shoulder muscles strength and function, and the noninferiority compared with conventional elastic resistance exercises remains unknown. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effect of vibratory exercises versus conventional elastic resistance exercises with elastic bands on shoulder external rotation muscles strength and functional performance in young adults. METHODS: 26 young adults (7 males and 19 females, with age 23.89 ± 3.02) were recruited and randomly allocated to shoulder vibratory exercises with FLEXI-BAR (FLEXI-BAR group) or conventional resistance exercises with elastic band (TheraBand group) for 3 times/week, 4 weeks totally. Shoulder external rotator muscles strength test and Underkofler softball distance throw test (USDTT) were performed before and after the training period. RESULTS: After 4 weeks training, shoulder external rotator muscles strength increased 22.25 ± 15.06 N (P= 0.004, effect size = 1.48) within FLEXI-BAR group and 22.81 ± 14.94 N (P= 0.007, effect size = 1.53) within TheraBand group. There were no statistically significant differences between groups in the three muscle strength tests (P> 0.65). Regarding shoulder function, FLEXI-BAR exercises increased the throw distance 0.81 ± 0.92 meters in USDTT (P= 0.041, effect size = 0.88) while TheraBand exercise did not (P= 0.284), yet there was no statistically significant between group effects (P= 0.608). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that shoulder vibratory exercises can improve shoulder muscles strength in young adults and can be a useful alternative to the conventional elastic resistance exercises to improve the shoulder muscles strength and function. This provides therapists with more options in terms of choosing training equipment for rehabilitation programs.

QPCTL Affects the Daily Weight Gain of the F2 Population and Regulates Myogenic Cell Proliferation and Differentiation in Chickens.

Molecular breeding can accelerate the process of animal breeding and improve the breeding efficiency. To date, many Indel molecular markers have been identified in livestock and poultry, but how Indels affect economic traits is not well understood. For molecular breeding, it is crucial to reveal the mechanism of action of Indels and to provide more accurate information. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the 52/224-bp multiallelic Indels of the chicken QPCTL promoter area affect the daily weight gain of chickens and the potential regulatory mechanism of the QPCTL gene. The analysis was conducted by association analysis, qPCR, dual-fluorescence assay and Western blotting. The results showed that Indels in the QPCTL promoter region were significantly associated with the daily weight gain in chickens and that QPCTL expression showed a decreasing trend in embryonic breast muscle tissues. Furthermore, QPCTL expression was significantly higher in breast muscle tissues of the AC genotype than in those of the AB and BB genotypes. Based on the transcriptional activity results, the pGL3-C vector produced more luciferase activity than pGL3-A and pGL3-B. In addition, overexpression of QPCTL promoted chicken primary myoblast (CPM) proliferation and inhibited differentiation. The results of this study suggest that Indels in the promoter region of the QPCTL gene may regulate the proliferation and differentiation of CPMs by affecting the expression of QPCTL, which ultimately affects the growth rate of chickens. These Indels have important value for the molecular breeding of chickens, and QPCTL can be used as a candidate gene to regulate and improve chicken growth and development.

Integrative Analysis of Metabolomic and Transcriptomic Data Reveals the Antioxidant Potential of Dietary Lutein in Chickens.

Lutein can increase the body's skin color and has antioxidant potential. However, how it affects lipid metabolism and oxidative stress in chickens remains unknown. In this study, 74-day-old male chickens raised on feed supplemented with lutein had higher hip, back, breast, leg, shin and abdominal fat yellowness than the control group, and the livers of chickens in the lutein group had higher superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase and lower malondialdehyde activities. To clarify the potential regulatory network regulated by lutein, we used RNA-seq and nontargeted metabolomics to detect changes in the male chicken liver and plasma, respectively. A total of 243 differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched in cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction signaling pathways, among others. A total of 237 significantly different metabolites were enriched in lysine biosynthesis and degradation and glycerophospholipid metabolism signaling pathways, among others. Finally, we comprehensively analyzed metabolome and transcriptome data and found that many differentially expressed genes and significantly different metabolites play crucial roles in lipid metabolism and oxidative stress. In summary, dietary lutein can improve male chicken skin yellowness and antioxidant indices and affect liver gene expression and plasma metabolites and may help improve the health of chickens.

Acute cardiovascular stress induced by shoulder vibratory exercise of different amplitudes.

BACKGROUND: Vibration exercise has been investigated to enhance muscle activation, however, the effect of different amplitude vibratory exercises on cardiovascular stress is less understood. OBJECTIVE: Our study aims to explore the acute effect of shoulder vibratory exercises with different postures and amplitudes on the cardiovascular response in healthy adults. METHODS: Using a repeated measures randomized design, 36 subjects performed three different sessions with FLEXI-BAR exercise (FBE): (1) zero-amplitude, (2) small-amplitude, (3) large-amplitude. Each session included three different shoulder positions: 45-, 90- and 180-degree flexion. Heart rate variability (HRV), heart rate (HR) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were monitored continuously, while systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and rate-pressure product (RPP) were measured before and after each exercise session. RESULTS: Compared with zero-amplitude, both small- and large-amplitude FBE protocols induced higher SBP. By contrast, DBP decreased with small- and large-amplitude. The RPP immediately after the exercise session were higher than at baseline. For high frequency, low frequency of HRV and HR there was a main effect of amplitude. CONCLUSION: Small- and large-amplitude FBE increased significantly SBP, RPE, HRV, HR and induced lower DBP, but the changes were modest, suggesting that FBE impose no extra threats to cardiovascular stress.

Novel 61-bp Indel of RIN2 Is Associated With Fat and Hatching Weight Traits in Chickens.

The Ras and Rab interactor 2 (RIN2) gene, which encodes RAS and Rab interacting protein 2, can interact with GTP-bound Rab5 and participate in early endocytosis. This study found a 61-bp insertion/deletion (indel) in the RIN2 intron region, and 3 genotypes II, ID, and DD were observed. Genotype analysis of mutation sites was performed on 665 individuals from F2 population and 8 chicken breeds. It was found that the indel existed in each breed and that yellow feathered chickens were mainly of the DD genotype. Correlation analysis of growth and carcass traits in the F2 population of Xinghua and White Recessive Rock chickens showed that the 61-bp indel was significantly correlated with abdominal fat weight, abdominal fat rate, fat width, and hatching weight (P < 0.05). RIN2 mRNA was expressed in all the tested tissues, and its expression in abdominal fat was higher than that in other tissues. In addition, the expression of the RIN2 mRNA in the abdominal fat of the DD genotype was significantly higher than that of the II genotype (P < 0.05). The transcriptional activity results showed that the luciferase activity of the pGL3-DD vector was significantly higher than that of the pGL3-II vector (P < 0.01). Moreover, the results indicate that the polymorphisms in transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) of 61-bp indel may affect the transcriptional activity of RIN2, and thus alter fat traits in chicken. The results of this study showed that the 61-bp indel was closely related to abdominal fat-related and hatching weight traits of chickens, which may have reference value for molecular marker-assisted selection of chickens.

Screening for Cognitive Impairment After Stroke: Validation of the Chinese Version of the Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment Screen.

Background: Screening for post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) is necessary because stroke increases the incidence of and accelerates premorbid cognitive decline. The Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment (Qmci) screen is a short, reliable and accurate cognitive screening instrument but is not yet validated in PSCI. We compared the diagnostic accuracy of a Chinese version of the Qmci screen (Qmci-CN) compared with the widely-used Chinese versions of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-CN) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-CN). Methods: We recruited 34 patients who had recovered from a stroke in rehabilitation unit clinics in 2 university hospitals in China: 11 with post-stroke dementia (PSD), 15 with post-stroke cognitive impairment no dementia (PSCIND), and 8 with normal cognition (NC). Classification was made based on clinician assessment supported by a neuropsychological battery, independent of the screening test scores. The Qmci-CN, MoCA-CN, and MMSE-CN screens were administered randomly by a trained rater, blind to the diagnosis. Results: The mean age of the sample was 63 ± 13 years and 61.8% were male. The Qmci-CN had statistically similar diagnostic accuracy in differentiating PSD from NC, an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.94 compared to 0.99 for the MoCA-CN (p = 0.237) and 0.99 for the MMSE-CN (p = 0.293). The Qmci-CN (AUC 0.91), MoCA-CN (AUC 0.94), and MMSE-CN (AUC 0.79) also had statistically similar accuracy in separating PSD from PSCIND. The MoCA-CN more accurately distinguished between PSCIND and normal cognition than the Qmci-CN (p = 0.015). Compared to the MoCA-CN, the administration times of the Qmci-CN (329s vs. 611s, respectively, p < 0.0001) and MMSE-CN (280 vs. 611s, respectively, p < 0.0001) were significantly shorter. Conclusion: The Qmci-CN is accurate in identifying PSD and separating PSD from PSCIND in patients post-stroke following rehabilitation and is comparable to the widely-used MoCA-CN, albeit with a significantly shorter administration time. The Qmci-CN had relatively poor accuracy in identifying PSCIND from NC and hence may lack accuracy for certain subgroups. However, given the small sample size, the study is under-powered to show superiority of one instrument over another. Further study is needed to confirm these findings in a larger sample size and in other settings (countries and languages).

Efficacy of whole body vibration therapy on pain and functional ability in people with non-specific low back pain: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Whole body vibration (WBV) is currently increasing in popularity as a treatment modality for musculoskeletal disorders and improving health-related quality of life. Recent research has shown that WBV can reduce low back pain and improve the functional abilities for patients, however, optimal frequency and duration of vibration for therapeutic use is unclear. This review was conducted to summarize and determine the efficacy of whole body vibration therapy on individuals with non-specific low back pain (NLBP) and evaluated methodological quality of the included studies. METHODS: Online literature searches through the Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane Library databases, PEDro, Ovid, EBSCO (Medline) and Scopus were conducted up to December 2019. Randomized controlled trials investigating the effect of WBV on pain intensity and/or functional ability in individuals with non-specific low back pain (NLBP) were included. Details of the sample characteristics, treatment of the comparison group, WBV parameters and outcome measures were recorded, and methodological quality appraised using the PEDro scale. RESULTS: 7 published RCTs (418 patients) were included in the systematic review. Due to heterogeneity in vibration parameters and prescriptions, and small number of studies, no meta-analysis was performed. Four out of the six included studies using pain as an outcome measure showed that WBV had a beneficial effect on pain compared with the control group, whereas only two trials were considered to be of high methodological quality. Among the six studies which measured functional ability, three studies with good quality reported significant between-group differences in favor of WBV. CONCLUSIONS: There is limited evidence suggests that WBV is beneficial for NLBP when compared with other forms of interventions (stability training, classic physiotherapy, routine daily activity). Due to the small sample sizes and statistical heterogeneity, we still cannot draw conclusions that WBV is an effective intervention. Further high-quality studies are needed before clinical recommendations can be provided to support its use in a general population with NLBP and to explore the optimal treatment protocol. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration number: CRD42017074775.