Evaluation of Reference Genes for Quantitative PCR in Four Tissues from Rabbits with Hypercholesterolaemia

Abstract Rabbit with hypercholesterolaemia is an important model for studying cholesterol metabolism disease. This study aimed to evaluate the expression stability of nine reference genes for quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis in adrenal gland, liver, spleen, and kidney tissue from rabbits with hypercholesterolaemia. In total, 30 male Harbin Large White (HLW) rabbits were fed a normal feed (n = 15) or a high cholesterol feed (n = 15) for 8 weeks to induce hypercholesterolaemia. Nine reference genes were verified by qPCR using cDNA extracted from rabbit tissue samples. For qPCR analysis, reference genes were evaluated using the RefFinder and GeNorm algorithms. Overall, seven rabbits with hypercholesterolaemia were identified based on body weight and total cholesterol measurements. Combining the results of the RefFinder and GeNorm algorithms, the most stable reference genes were hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase 1 (Hprt1) and eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 alpha 1 (Eef1a1) in the adrenal gland, β-2-microglobulin (B2m) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (Gapdh) in the liver, tyrosine 3-monooxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein zeta (Ywhaz) and Gapdh in the spleen, and peptidylprolyl isomerase (Ppia), β-actin (Actb), succinate dehydrogenase complex subunit A flavoprotein (Sdha), and B2m in the kidney. Taken together, our results confirmed that Hprt1 and Eef1a1, B2m and Gapdh, Ywhaz and Gapdh, and Ppia, Actb, Sdha, and B2m were the best reference genes for qPCR analyses in adrenal gland, liver, spleen, and kidney tissue, respectively, of rabbits with hypercholesterolaemia.

The type and extent of injuries in vitrified mouse oocytes.

To improve the vitrification of mouse oocytes using straws, we attempted to estimate the type and extent of injuries during vitrification with a vitrification solution EAFS10/10. Injuries in oocytes were assessed based on cellular viability, the integrity of the plasma membrane, the status of the meiotic spindle/chromosomes, and morphological appearance. For morphologically normal oocytes, the ability to be fertilized and to develop into blastocysts was examined. Morphological assessment revealed 15% of oocytes to be injured by intracellular ice formed during vitrification, and 10% by osmotic swelling during removal of the cryoprotectant. When assessed by the status of spindles/chromosomes, the most sensitive criterion, damage was found in 16% of oocytes without any treatment. This value was similar to the proportion of fresh oocytes that did not cleave after insemination (13%). On exposure to EAFS10/10, the spindles/chromosomes were affected in 33% of oocytes. The exposure reduced the rate of cleavage by 18% points and the rate of development into blastocysts by 19 points. Vitrification reduced these rates by 15% and 36% points, respectively. Although the mechanism responsible for this moderate toxic effect on developmental ability is not known, information obtained in the present study will be useful to develop a practical method for the vitrification of mouse oocytes using straws.

[Correlation analysis between MC3R and MC4R gene polymorphism and growth traits in pigeon.].

The SNPs in partial coding sequence of MC3R and MC4R genes were identified by polymerase chain reaction followed by single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis and DNA sequencing in shack-Kee and Columba domestica from Harbin area. Correlation analysis between MC3R and MC4R polymorphism and growth and body composition traits was carried by the least square analysis. The genotypes of T91G mutation in MC3R gene and A903G mutation in MC4R gene proved to have significant association with body weight, carcass weight, and holo-carcass weight in shack-Kee (P<0.05). The interaction of MC3R-T91G and MC4R-A903G was discussed through combination genotype analysis. The least square analysis showed that the combined genotype had significant association with holo-carcass weight (P<0.05). Multiple comparisons revealed that BBAA genotype birds had a higher holo-carcass weight than AABB genotype birds and BBAA genotype was the beneficial genotype for the growth of body weight.