Weaned beef calves are stressed and have a compromised immune system making them highly susceptible to various infections. The study evaluated the effect of feeding chromium supplements on beef calves’ performance and immune function. Angus cross beef calves (n = 120) were randomly assigned to pens (n = 12 pens; 6 pens/treatment; 10 calves/pen) in a completely randomized design with subsampling. Calves were fed free-choice Bermuda grass hay, water, and minerals and 2 % of BW of 50 % soyhulls and 50 % corn-gluten mix; dietary treatments used were control (no chromium; n = 60) and chromium-supplemented (0.4 % KemTRACE® chromium; n = 60) during preconditioning trial for 60 days. Calves were weighed on d 0, 30, and 60. Blood samples were collected to perform complete blood counts, serum biochemistry analysis, and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, TNF-alpha) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4) measurements using ELISA kits. PHA and COVA challenges respectively assessed cell-mediated and humoral immune responses. Data were analyzed using GLIMMIX procedures of SAS 9.4 (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC) without considering random effect. Results showed that chromium supplementation did not affect the total body weight gain, average daily gain, and feed efficiency of beef calves (P > 0.05). Eosinophil concentration was significantly higher (P < 0.01), and BUN was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in chromium-treated calves. IL-2 was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in chromium-treated than in control calves. TNF-alpha and IL-4 were significantly reduced (P < 0.05) in chromium-supplemented than in control calves. IL-6 was not significantly different (P > 0.05) in chromium-treated than in control calves. Although not significant (P = 0.1), skinfold thickness after the PHA challenge tended to be higher for chromium-treated calves than control groups, which align with a high IL-2 response. Results suggest that chromium supplementation may alter the animals’ inflammatory immune response, so it might be considered a suitable feed additive to improve the immune response in the preconditioning calves.

Hempseed meal (HSM) is the byproduct of hemp seeds and is rich in crude protein and fiber, making it an ideal candidate as a feedstuff for ruminants. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the effects of feeding different levels of HSM on the carcass traits of crossbred Boer goats. Forty castrated goat kids (approximately six months, 25.63 ± 0.33 kg) were assigned to one of four treatments (n = 10) in a completely randomized design. Goats were fed pelleted diets (50% forage and 50% concentrate) with additional supplementation of HSM: control with 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% of the total diets. Goats were harvested and processed after a 60-day feeding trial. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in the mean values of dressing percentages, carcass weights, body wall thickness, and ribeye area among treatments. Marbling scores and percentages of moisture, fats, proteins, and collagen in the muscles showed no significant differences (p > 0.05) among the treatments. Results suggest that including up to 30% of HSM in the diet of growing meat goats does not affect their carcass traits.

Distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) produced in the US are predominately low fat, as the economics favor separating as much oil as possible for sale as renewable diesel feedstock and also for use in swine and poultry feed. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of feeding different amounts of low-fat DDGS (LF-DDGS) on the growth performance, growth efficiency, rumen fermentation, blood metabolites, and carcass characteristics of Kiko crossbred wether goats. Twenty-four goats, 5–6 months of age, were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental diets (n = 6/diet), 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% LF-DDGS on an as-fed basis, and fed for 84 days. The data collected were analyzed using an orthogonal contrast test for equally spaced treatments. The average total gains, average daily gains, and gain-to-feed ratios were similar among the treatments (p > 0.05). The rumen acetate, propionate, and butyrate concentrations and the acetate:propionate ratios were similar (p > 0.05) among the treatments. There were no differences (p > 0.05) among the treatments for the dressing percentage, rib eye area, and backfat thickness. The findings suggest that at least up to 30% LF-DDGS can be included in the diets of castrated male goats without affecting the production performance and carcass characteristics.

Industrial hemp is currently being investigated as a potential new crop in the U.S. with the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills passage. Hemp seeds are utilized to produce hemp oil and result in Hempseed Meal (HSM) production, rich in crude protein and fiber, making it an ideal candidate as a feedstuff for ruminant animals. This study evaluated the effects of feeding different levels of HSM on the carcass traits and meat quality of crossbred Boer goats. Forty castrated male goat kids with an initial average body weight of 25.63±.33 kg and approximately six months of age and kg were assigned to one of four treatments (n = 10) in a completely randomized design. Goats were fed pelleted diets (50% forage and 50% concentrate). Treatments consisted of different levels of HSM: control with 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% HSM supplementation of the total diets. The goats were harvested, and carcasses were processed at the Lambert-Powell Meat Laboratory at Auburn University after a 60-d feeding trial. Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedures of SAS 9.4 (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC). There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) on the mean values of dressing percentages (46.59, 45.42, 45.77, and 46.16% for 0, 10, 20 and 30% HSM, respectively) and ribeye area (3.68, 3.4, 3.47, 3.39 inches, respectively). The percentage of moisture, fats, proteins, and collagen in the muscles showed no significant difference (P > 0.05) between the different levels of HSM-containing diets. The marbling scores (376, 399, 355, 364 respectively) were also not significantly different (P > 0.05) among the treatments and are representative of marbling scores indicative of “slight.” Results suggest that producers can include up to 30% of HSM in the diets of growing meat goats without creating a detrimental effect on carcass traits.

In tumor Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class 1 expression pathway, antigen presenting peptides get hijacked and thus cancer cells escape immune recognition and promote immunosuppressive microenvironment. The restoration of altered MHC 1 expression is important for the treatment of cancer. Inhibition of amino acid uptake or tRNA synthase which mediates amino acid incorporation into protein, mimics starvation. The cancer cell responds to starvation by upregulating proteases to mobilize fatty acids and cellular surface molecules to scavenge exogenous molecules. EPRS (Glutamyl prolyl tRNA synthetase) catalyzes the aminoacylation of glutamic acid and proline to cognate tRNAs. Apart from that, the overexpression of EPRS1 gene is related to tumor angiogenesis, but the mechanism is not clear. Research showed that inhibition of EPRS is effective for the inhibition of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and colon cancer. Camptothecin (CPT) is a kind of chemotherapy drug that causes DNA damage by binding topoisomerase enzyme and DNA complex and arrest cells cycle in the S and G2 phases resulting in apoptosis. The knockdown (KD) of EPRS in TNBCs and the use of CPT for the treatment of colon cancer are both likely to have an impact on the accumulation of self epitopes, PTMs, and the creation of neoepitopes within tumors as a result. In this study, we examined the effects of EPRS and CPT treatment on the stimulation of MHC 1 in TNBC and colon cancer cells, as well as the diversity of peptide repertoires in EPRS KD breast cancer cells and CPT treated colon cancer cells. We conducted flow cytometer to detect the HLA specific antibodies on CPT treated RKO and SW620 colon cancer as well as EPRS KD MDA MB 231 triple negative breast cancer cells in our laboratory. In addition, we also performed immunopeptidomes on these cell lines to gain a deeper understanding of the biochemistry and immune pathway. Furthermore, we conducted cell cycle assays in both CRISPR and lentiviral mediated EPRS KD MDA MB 231 cells after CPT treatment. The human MHC class 1 expression were higher in both CPT treated RKO and SW620 colon cancer and EPRS KD MDA MB 231 TNBC cells as compared to the control in both our laboratory and Cayman Immunopeptidome analysis tests. In addition, the cell cycle result showed increment in S phase and reduction in G1 phase in some of the CPT treated EPRS KD ShRNA samples as compared to the control. These results showed that CPT as well as EPRS may play some role in the MHC Class 1 presentation in cancer cells. There were no significant changes observed in the total peptide content of TNBC cells after EPRS knockdown and colon cancer cells after CPT treatment. However, the knockdown of EPRS gene and the CPT treatment resulted in a novel peptide repertoire presented by the cells, which could have relevant to antigen presentation. Further studies are needed for detailed understanding of the biochemistry and immune pathway. Citation Format: Reshma Gurung, Alehegne Yirsaw, Mohammad Hassan, Temesgen Samuel, Clayton Yates, Deepa Bedi. Starvation response to chemotherapy induces MHC class 1 upregulation in cancer cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 2258.