Intestinal microbiota and innate immunity-related gene alteration in cirrhotic rats with liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND: The present study investigated the alteration of intestinal microbiota, innate immunity-related genes, and bacterial translocation in rats with cirrhosis and liver transplantation. METHODS: Specific pathogen-free Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into 4 groups: (1) normal controls (N); (2) liver cirrhosis (LC); (3) normal control groups with liver transplantation (LTN); and (4) liver cirrhosis with liver transplantation (LTC). We examined plasma endotoxin, bacterial tacslocation, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profile of intestinal mucosa-associated bacteria, abundance of key bacterial populations, and expression of innate immunity-related gene. RESULTS: The LTC and LC group, showed higher endotoxin levels (1.08±0.73 EU/mL and 0.74±0.70 EU/mL, respectively) than the N group (0.27±0.13 EU/mL; P<.05). the incidence of bacterial translocation (BT) to liver and mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN), and the number of total bacteria were increased significantly in the LTC and LC groups compared with the N group (P<.05). The counts of Lactobacilli and Bacteroides were lower, whereas Enterobacteria were higher in the LC than the N group (P<.05). Mucins (MUC2, MUC3) and Toll-like receptors (TLR2, TLR4) messenger RNA (mRNA) expression were significantly higher in the LC and LTC groups than the N group (P<.05). The marked difference between the groups in the overall structure of the bacterial community was also generated by DGGE profiles. CONCLUSION: Liver cirrhosis disturbs intestinal microbiota and innate immunity-related genes, which contributes to endotoxemia and bacterial translocation. These had not completely recovered in cirrhotic rats until 1 month after orthotopic liver transplantation.

Effects of time on feed and post-mortem aging on palatability and lipid composition of crossbred Wagyu beef.

Twenty-seven Wagyu-sired steers were fed for 90 (14 steers) or 170 (13 steers) days to study the effects of time on feed on palatability and fatty acid composition, and the effects of post-mortem aging time (2, 4 or 10 days) on palatability. Hot carcass weight, fat thickness, longissimus dorsi muscle area, yield grade, estimated kidney, pelvic and heart fat and maturity score were increased (p < 0.05) by an additional 80 days on the high concentrate feed, but marbling was not changed (p > 0.05). Feeding the high concentrate diet for 170 days increased Warner-Bratzler shear force values (p < 0.05) and tended to decrease tenderness (p > 0.05), flavor intensity and connective tissue scores. For the 90 day feeding group, 4 days of aging improved connective tissue score (p < 0.05) and tended to increase (p > 0.05) tenderness scores and decrease shear force, compared with 2 days of aging. For the 170 day feeding group, 10 days of aging improved (p < 0.05) shear force and all sensory attributes except flavor intensity, compared to 2 days of aging. An additional 80 days on feed decreased (p < 0.05) stearic acid and total saturated fatty acids (SFA) and generally increased (p < 0.05) monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), MUFA:SFA, and PUFA:SFA in subcutaneous fat and longissimus dorsi muscle. The cholesterol content of fat and muscle increased (p < 0.05) as time on feed increased. Ninety days on a high concentrate diet was adequate for yearling crossbred Wagyu steers to produce highly acceptable carcasses. The additional 80 days on feed produced little or no overall benefit and the steers became overfinished and less tender. Ten days post-mortem aging improved (p < 0.05) all palatability attributes except flavor intensity.

Effects of breed and sire on carcass characteristics and fatty acid profiles of crossbred wagyu and angus steers.

In a two-year experiment, 54 steers sired by seven Wagyu bulls [American Wagyu Association (AWA) sire numbers 331, 384, 388, 411, 429, 433 and 488] and 15 steers sired by two Angus bulls, all out of Angus-Hereford cows, were used to evaluate the effects of sire and breed on carcass characteristics and fatty acid composition. Steers were given ad-libitum access to a high-concentrate diet (15 % alfalfa cubes and 85 % barley supplement) for at least 170 days. Breed and individual sire effects were analysed. Wagyu-sired steers had higher marbling, maturity and quality scores, more estimated kidney, pelvic and heart fat, larger longissimus dorsi muscle areas, lower fat thicknesses and yield grades than Angus-sired steers (p < 0.05). Steers sired by 388, 411 and 433 had lower fat thicknesses than steers sired by Angus, 429 and 488 (p < 0.05). Steers sired by 384 and 388 had higher marbling scores per cm subcutaneous fat than steers sired by Angus, 429 and 488, and lower fat thickness per 100 kg of carcass weight than Angus-sired steers (p < 0.05). For both subcutaneous fat and longissimus dorsi muscle, Wagyu-sired steers had higher (p < 0.05) percentages of 14:0, 14:1, 16:0, 16:1, and lower percentages of 18:0 than Angus-sired steers. The genetic differences in carcass characteristics among Wagyu sires may enable us to select for improved marbling with less fat in the Wagyu breed. Some statistically significant (p < 0.05) but small differences existed in fatty acid profiles between breeds and among sires.