Evaluation of efficacy of Silybum marianum flower extract on the mitigating hair loss in vitro and in vivo.

BACKGROUND: Natural components that can exert a wide range of anti-hair loss activity with fewer side effects are in high demand. The objective of this study was to investigate the anti-hair loss potential of Silybum marianum flower extract (SMFE) in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: The effect of SMFE on dermal papilla cells was evaluated by measuring cell proliferation and VEGF production in hair follicle dermal papilla cells (HFDPCs). In addition, to confirm the effect of SMFE on dermal papilla senescence, SA-ß-gal staining and senescence associated secretory phenotype (SASP) production such as IL-6 was observed in both replicative and hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 )-induced senescence models. In a clinical study, hair growth was determined by reconstitution analysis after shaving the hair of the clinical subject's scalp and hair area. RESULTS: SMFE increased the proliferation and VEGF production of HFDPCs. It also suppressed cellular senescence of HFDPCs and IL-6 production in replicative senescence and oxidative stress-induced senescence models. The hair density and total hair count at 16 and 24 weeks after using hair shampoo containing SMFE were significantly increased compared with those of the placebo group. CONCLUSION: SMFE has the potential to be used as a natural ingredient for alleviating hair loss.

Prediction of Carcass Composition Using Carcass Grading Traits in Hanwoo Steers.

The prediction of carcass composition in Hanwoo steers is very important for value-based marketing, and the improvement of prediction accuracy and precision can be achieved through the analyses of independent variables using a prediction equation with a sufficient dataset. The present study was conducted to develop a prediction equation for Hanwoo carcass composition for which data was collected from 7,907 Hanwoo steers raised at a private farm in Gangwon Province, South Korea, and slaughtered in the period between January 2009 and September 2014. Carcass traits such as carcass weight (CWT), back fat thickness (BFT), eye-muscle area (EMA), and marbling score (MAR) were used as independent variables for the development of a prediction equation for carcass composition, such as retail cut weight and percentage (RC, and %RC, respectively), trimmed fat weight and percentage (FAT, and %FAT, respectively), and separated bone weight and percentage (BONE, and %BONE), and its feasibility for practical use was evaluated using the estimated retail yield percentage (ELP) currently used in Korea. The equations were functions of all the variables, and the significance was estimated via stepwise regression analyses. Further, the model equations were verified by means of the residual standard deviation and the coefficient of determination (R(2)) between the predicted and observed values. As the results of stepwise analyses, CWT was the most important single variable in the equation for RC and FAT, and BFT was the most important variable for the equation of %RC and %FAT. The precision and accuracy of three variable equation consisting CWT, BFT, and EMA were very similar to those of four variable equation that included all for independent variables (CWT, BFT, EMA, and MAR) in RC and FAT, while the three variable equations provided a more accurate prediction for %RC. Consequently, the three-variable equation might be more appropriate for practical use than the four-variable equation based on its easy and cost-effective measurement. However, a relatively high average difference for the ELP in absolute value implies a revision of the official equation may be required, although the current official equation for predicting RC with three variables is still valid.

Genetic relationships of carcass traits with retail cut productivity of hanwoo cattle.

This study aimed to estimate genetic correlation between carcass grading and retail productivity traits and to estimate the correlated response on retail productivity traits through selection for carcass grading traits in order to assess the efficacy of indirect selection. Genetic parameters were estimated with the data from 4240 Hanwoo steers using mixed models, and phenotypes included carcass weight (CWT), back fat thickness (BFT), eye muscle area (EMA), marbling (MAR), and estimated lean yield percentage (ELP) as the carcass grading traits, and weight and portion of retail cuts (RCW and RCP), trimmed fats (TFW and TFP) and trimmed bones (TBW and TBP) as the lean productivity traits. The CWT had positive genetic correlations with RCW (0.95) and TFW (0.73), but its genetic correlation with RCP was negligible (0.02). The BFT was negatively correlated with RCP (-0.63), but positively correlated with TFW and TFP (0.77 and 0.70). Genetic correlations of MAR with TFW and TFP were low. Among the carcass grading traits, only EMA was positively correlated with both RCW (0.60) and RCP (0.72). The EMA had a relatively strong negative genetic correlation with TFW (-0.64). The genetic correlation coefficients of ELP with RCP, TFW, and TFP were 0.76, -0.90, and -0.82, respectively. These correlation coefficients suggested that the ELP and EMA might be favorable traits in regulating lean productivity of carcass.

Whole-genome analyses of Korean native and Holstein cattle breeds by massively parallel sequencing.

A main goal of cattle genomics is to identify DNA differences that account for variations in economically important traits. In this study, we performed whole-genome analyses of three important cattle breeds in Korea--Hanwoo, Jeju Heugu, and Korean Holstein--using the Illumina HiSeq 2000 sequencing platform. We achieved 25.5-, 29.6-, and 29.5-fold coverage of the Hanwoo, Jeju Heugu, and Korean Holstein genomes, respectively, and identified a total of 10.4 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), of which 54.12% were found to be novel. We also detected 1,063,267 insertions-deletions (InDels) across the genomes (78.92% novel). Annotations of the datasets identified a total of 31,503 nonsynonymous SNPs and 859 frameshift InDels that could affect phenotypic variations in traits of interest. Furthermore, genome-wide copy number variation regions (CNVRs) were detected by comparing the Hanwoo, Jeju Heugu, and previously published Chikso genomes against that of Korean Holstein. A total of 992, 284, and 1881 CNVRs, respectively, were detected throughout the genome. Moreover, 53, 65, 45, and 82 putative regions of homozygosity (ROH) were identified in Hanwoo, Jeju Heugu, Chikso, and Korean Holstein respectively. The results of this study provide a valuable foundation for further investigations to dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying variation in economically important traits in cattle and to develop genetic markers for use in cattle breeding.

Massively parallel sequencing of Chikso (Korean brindle cattle) to discover genome-wide SNPs and InDels.

Since the completion of the bovine sequencing projects, a substantial number of genetic variations such as single nucleotide polymorphisms have become available across the cattle genome. Recently, cataloguing such genetic variations has been accelerated using massively parallel sequencing technology. However, most of the recent studies have been concentrated on European Bos taurus cattle breeds, resulting in a severe lack of knowledge for valuable native cattle genetic resources worldwide. Here, we present the first whole-genome sequencing results for an endangered Korean native cattle breed, Chikso, using the Illumina HiSeq 2,000 sequencing platform. The genome of a Chikso bull was sequenced to approximately 25.3-fold coverage with 98.8% of the bovine reference genome sequence (UMD 3.1) covered. In total, 5,874,026 single nucleotide polymorphisms and 551,363 insertion/deletions were identified across all 29 autosomes and the X-chromosome, of which 45% and 75% were previously unknown, respectively. Most of the variations (92.7% of single nucleotide polymorphisms and 92.9% of insertion/deletions) were located in intergenic and intron regions. A total of 16,273 single nucleotide polymorphisms causing missense mutations were detected in 7,111 genes throughout the genome, which could potentially contribute to variation in economically important traits in Chikso. This study provides a valuable resource for further investigations of the genetic mechanisms underlying traits of interest in cattle, and for the development of improved genomics-based breeding tools.