ObjectiveThis experiment investigated the effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) alone or mixed with ochratoxin A (OTA) and/or zearalenone (ZEA) on the metabolism, immune function, and antioxidant status of dairy goats.MethodsFifty lactating Laoshan dairy goats were randomly assigned to one of five treatment groups (n = 10) for 14 days. Goats were fed no additive (control) or administered with 50 μg AFB1/kg dry matter (DM) (AFB1), 50 μg AFB1/kg DM+100 μg OTA/kg DM (AFB1+ OTA), 50 μg AFB1/kg DM+500 μg ZEA/kg DM (AFB1+ZEA), or 50 μg AFB1/kg DM+100 μg OTA/kg DM+500 μg ZEA/kg DM (AFB1+OTA+ZEA).ResultsDry matter intake and milk production were lower in goats fed AFB1+OTA+ZEA than in controls. Supplementation with AFB1, OTA, and ZEA significantly decreased red blood cell count, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and mean platelet volume, and significantly increased white blood cell count, when compared with the control group. Compared with control, the combination of AFB1, OTA, and ZEA significantly increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities, total bilirubin (TBIL), interleukin-6, and malondialdehyde (MDA), but significantly reduced immunoglobulin A concentration, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxides (GSH-Px), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in serum. Administration of AFB1 combined with OTA led to higher ALP, ALT, TBIL, and MDA, as well as lower milk production, SOD and GSH-Px activities, and T-AOC, than administration of AFB1 combined with ZEA.ConclusionThe mixture of AFB1, OTA, and ZEA exerted the greatest adverse effects on dairy goats, meanwhile the deleterious damage of the other mycotoxin combinations were in varying degrees. The findings of this study could provide guidance for the prevention and treatment of the consequences of contamination of animal feeds with combinations of mycotoxin.

The purposes of this study were to investigate the systemic and characteristic metabolites in the serum of dairy goats induced by aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) exposure and to further understand the endogenous metabolic alterations induced by it. A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabonomic approach was used to analyse the metabolic alterations in dairy goats that were induced by low doses of AFB1 (50 µg/kg DM). We found that AFB1 exposure caused significant elevations of glucose, citrate, acetate, acetoacetate, betaine, and glycine yet caused reductions of lactate, ketone bodies (acetate, β-hydroxybutyrate), amino acids (citrulline, leucine/isoleucine, valine, creatine) and cell membrane structures (choline, lipoprotein, N-acetyl glycoproteins) in the serum. These data indicated that AFB1 caused endogenous metabolic changes in various metabolic pathways, including cell membrane-associated metabolism, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, glycolysis, lipids, and amino acid metabolism. These findings provide both a comprehensive insight into the metabolic aspects of AFB1-induced adverse effects on dairy goats and a method for monitoring dairy animals exposed to low doses of AFB1.

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A novel 99m Tc labeled complex, [N-[2-((2-oxo-2-(4-(3-phenylpropyl)piperazin-1-yl)ethyl)(2-mercaptoethyl)amino)acetyl]-2-aminoethanethiolato]Technetium(V) oxide (PPPE-MAMA′ -99m TcO) ([ 99m Tc]-2) has been designed and prepared based on the integrated approach. The corresponding rhenium complex (PPPE-MAMA′ -ReO)(Re-2) has been prepared and characterized. In vitro competition binding assays show moderate affinity of Re-2 towards σ 1 and σ 2 receptors with K i values of 8.67 ± 0.07 and 5.71 ± 1.88 µmol, respectively. Planar images obtained at 0.5 h, 4 h, 20 h after i.v. injection indicate the accumulation of [ 99m Tc]-2 in MCF-7 human breast tumor bearing mice at 20 h. Furthermore, the accumulation of [ 99m Tc]-2 has been inhibited at 20 h after co-injection of [ 99m Tc]-2 plus haloperidol (1 mg/kg). Biodistribution studies of [ 99m Tc]-2 display an in vivo tumor uptake of 0.14% ± 0.01% ID/g at 24 h post i.v. injection with a tumor/muscle ratio of 6.02 ± 0.87. The above results suggest that [ 99m Tc]-2, derived from a previously published lead compound, retains certain tumor uptake and affinity for σ receptors. [ 99m Tc]-2 may be used as a basis for further structural modifications to develop tumor imaging agents with high affinity for σ receptors.

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of dietary copper (Cu) on performance, carcass characteristics and lipid metabolism in lambs. Fifty Dorper×Mongolia wether lambs (approximately 3 month of age; 23.8±0.6 kg of body weight) were housed in individual pens and were assigned randomly to one of five treatments. Treatments consisted of 1) control (no supplemental Cu), 2) 10 mg Cu/kg DM from Cu-lysine, 3) 20 mg Cu/kg DM from Cu-lysine, 4) 10 mg Cu/kg DM from tribasic copper chloride (Cu 2 (OH) 3 Cl; TBCC), 5) 20 mg Cu/kg DM from tribasic copper chloride. The Cu concentration was 6.74 mg/kg DM in the basal diet. Body weight was measured on two consecutive days at the start and the end of the 60-day experimental period. Blood samples were collected and then the lambs were slaughtered on d 60. Performance was not affected (p>0.05) by dietary Cu treatment. Cusupplemented and control lambs had similar hot carcass weight, dressing percentage and longissimus muscle area, but Cu supplementation, regardless of source and level, reduced (p<0.01) 12th rib backfat and kidney fat in lambs. Plasma tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and serum triglyceride concentrations were increased (p<0.05), total cholesterol concentrations were decreased (p<0.05) and nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) concentrations tended to be increased (p<0.07) by Cu supplementation. However, Serum concentrations of HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were not affected (p>0.05) by dietary treatment. Fatty acid profile of longissimus muscle was similar across treatments. These results indicate that Cu-lysine and TBCC are of similar availability in lambs. Cu supplementation given to Dorper×Mongolia wether lambs altered lipid metabolism. The reduction in backfat depth may be due to copper altering TNF-α metabolism in lambs. Supplementation of 10 or 20 mg Cu/kg DM showed similar effects on lipid metabolism in lambs.

ObjectiveThe objective of the present study was to elucidate the mechanism underlying liver metabolic perturbations in dairy cows exposed to heat stress (HS).MethodsLiquid chromatography massabl spectrometry was used to analyze metabolic differences in livers of 20 dairy cows, with and without exposure to HS.ResultsThe results revealed 33 potential metabolite candidate biomarkers for the detection of HS in dairy cows. Fifteen of these metabolites (glucose, lactate, pyruvate, acetoacetate, β-hydroxybutyrate, fumaric acid, citric acid, choline, glycine, proline, isoleucine, leucine, urea, creatinine, and orotic acid) were previously found to be potential biomarkers of HS in plasma or milk, discriminating dairy cows with and without HS.ConclusionAll the potential diagnostic biomarkers were involved in glycolysis, amino acid, ketone, tricarboxylic acid, or nucleotide metabolism, indicating that HS mainly affected energy and nucleotide metabolism in lactating dairy cows.

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A cellulase gene (cel28a) was isolated from a rumen microbial metagenome library of goat rumen microorganisms, cloned into E. coli, and expressed in active form. The gene has a length of 1596 bp obtained using a genome walking Kit and encodes a protein of 509 amino acids with a calculated MW of 55 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence was homologous with cellulases belonging to the glycosyl hydrolase family 5 (GH5). The expressed protein showed activity toward carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and xylan, suggesting non-specific endoglucanase activity. The optimal conditions for endoglucanase and xylanase activities were 50 °C and pH 5.0. The metal ions (Ca(2+), Fe(2+), Mn(2+) and Co(2+)) stimulated the cellulase activity of cel28a, while the other metal ions and chemicals (Ni(2+), Mg(2+), Zn(2+), Cu(2+), SDS and EDTA) inhibited the cellulase activity. Further examination of substrate preference showed a higher activity with CMC, oat spelt xylan and birchwood xylan than with filter paper and microcrystalline cellulose, again suggesting that the protein was an endoglucanase with xylanase activity.