Sena Ardicli

Association of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the FABP4 Gene with Carcass Characteristics and Meat Quality in Holstein Bulls

Abstract The aim of this study was to characterize the bovine fatty acid binding protein (FABP4) gene 3691G>A and 2834C>G polymorphisms and to evaluate interaction effects on the live weight, carcass characteristics and meat quality of Holstein bulls in the South Marmara region of Turkey. A total of 400 Holstein bulls grown on a private farm and slaughtered at 14-21 months of age, were randomly selected for use in this study. Initially, genotyping was performed by PCR-RFLP method and statistical analysis was carried out using least square methods of the GLM procedure. A SNP located in intron 1 (2834C>G) was associated with desirable increases in live weight, hot carcass weight and chilled carcass weight, and a SNP located in exon 3 (3691G>A) was associated with significant increases in marbling scores and first compressive stress point of the longissimus dorsi muscle (P<0.05). The interaction analysis of the 3691G>A and the 2834C>G polymorphisms revealed significant effects for hot carcass weight, chilled carcass weight and backfat thickness (P<0.05). There were no significant associations between the SNPs and carcass measurements. Results indicated that the FABP4 3691G>A and 2834C>G polymorphisms and the 3691G>A and 2834C>G interactions can be used as selection parameters in breeding programmes to improve meat yield and carcass characteristics.

Paclitaxel resistance and the role of miRNAs in prostate cancer cell lines

PurposeTo investigate the expression profiles of 86 miRNAs in paclitaxel-resistant prostate cancer cell lines and to identify the genes that have a role in the development of drug resistance.MethodsThree prostate cancer cell lines, androgen-dependent VCaP, androgen-independent PC-3 and DU-145, were used to obtain paclitaxel-resistant cells by progressively increasing the concentration of paclitaxel in the culture medium. Viability assays with 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium and sulforhodamine B were used to assess the cell resistance level and cytotoxic effects of paclitaxel treatment. Total RNA was isolated from both prostate cancer cell lines and their resistant versions, and cDNA samples were reverse transcribed from total RNA. Selected target genes of miRNAs that showed differences in expression and were estimated to be effective on drug resistance mechanism were analyzed with western blot analysis.ResultsExpression study of 86 miRNAs by RT-PCR demonstrated that several of the miRNAs were expressed at different levels in paclitaxel-resistant cells compared to wild-type cells. Moreover, the expression profiles of these miRNAs varied among different prostate cancer cell line types, with 13 miRNAs being up-regulated in the resistant cells. Among these, miR-200b-3p, miR-34b-3p and miR-375 exhibited a marked up-regulation. Further, miR-100-5p showed a prominent increase in paclitaxel-resistant VCaP-R and DU145-R cells. Western blot and RT-PCR studies showed that only the LARP1 and CCND1 genes were over-expressed up to 2–5 times in all paclitaxel-resistant cell lines compared to the other investigated genes.ConclusionsIn this study, the three paclitaxel-resistant prostate cancer cell lines examined showed remarkably different miRNA expression profiles.