The signal peptide CUB EGF-like domain-containing protein 3 (SCUBE3) gene is a member of SCUBE gene family and plays important roles in bone cell biology and the determination of limb bone length. In this study, the full-length transcript of porcine SCUBE3 was cloned using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and rapid amplification of cDNA ends. The full-length sequence of porcine SCUBE3 cDNA was 4131 base pairs and included 21 exons.
Doppel is a homologue of cellular prion protein (PrP)-like protein (PrPC). Different tissue samples were collected from the central nervous system plus four regions of lymphoid system, eleven regions of digestive tract and two reproductive organs from four ARR/ARQ and four ARH/ARQ sheep, genotypes of the PrP gene. Total RNA was isolated from these samples, and Doppel mRNA was quantified by real-time RT-PCR using SYBR Green.
NR5A2 has been implicated in processes as diverse as steroidogenesis, cellular proliferation, ovarian follicular development, ovulation, and fertility in mammals. However, data about the relationship between NR5A2 and prolificacy in mammals are lacking. In the present study, we identified and characterized NR5A2 of Hu sheep, and investigated the correlation between NR5A2 and reproductive performance. The full-length coding region was 1488 bp, and the gene was conserved in mammals.
Intramuscular fatty acid (FA) is related to meat qualities such as juiciness, tenderness, palatability, and shear force. PPARα plays an important role in lipid metabolism in the liver and skeletal muscle. This study investigated FA composition in yaks and cattle, in order to ascertain whether a correlation between PPARα signal pathway genes as candidate genes and meat FA composition in yaks and cattle exists.
Matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) can mediate the occurrence and development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The MMP3 promoter gene exhibits polymorphism with 5A/6A alleles. We investigated the correlation between the expression of MMP3 gene polymorphism and RA to provide an objective basis for prognosis evaluation. We enrolled 80 RA patients and 80 healthy subjects.
Dairy goat is a good model for production of transgenic proteins in milk using somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). However, animals produced from SCNT are often associated with lung deficiencies. We recently produced six transgenic cloned dairy goats harboring the human lactoferrin gene, including three live transgenic clones and three deceased transgenic clones that died from respiratory failure during the perinatal period. Imprinted genes are important regulators of lung growth, and may be subjected to faulty reprogramming.
